Ary’s Recovery & Medical Expense Fund

Hi, my name is Sara and I am lucky to be an Aunt to Aryahna. As you now know, Ary has been diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer at age 16 and will undergo surgery next week to remove her thyroid and infected lymph nodes.

On Tuesday, August 22, Ary was in a minor car accident— a friend was driving and rear-ended someone. Ary was wearing a seatbelt and ultimately ended up with a lot of bruises. She had a lot of abdominal pain so they did a CT scan & blood tests to ensure she didn't have any injuries.

They found she was extremely anemic and gave her a unit of blood that night. Her iron is very low and ultimately they believe her anemia is the result of iron deficiency and unrelated to the real issue.

While doing the CT scan, they discovered a large thyroid tumor that had metastasized to four different lymph nodes in her neck and under her collarbone. She was seen at UW Hospital and Clinics on August 31 and will have surgery this coming Tuesday, September 12 to remove everything. While rare at her age, we are grateful thyroid cancer is very treatable and it is highly unlikely she will need to have any chemo or radiation. She may need to have a radioactive iodine treatment post-surgery, but that remains to be seen.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks, but we are thankful for UW's quick response. Ary is handling this with incredible maturity and grace, well beyond her 16 years of age.

We’re asking for your prayers that surgery next week is a success. Any donations made to this fundraiser will cover Ary’s medical expenses. Unfortunately, insurance coverage for Ary wasn’t effective until 9/1, meaning her visit and diagnostic tests performed at UW Hospital on 8/31 will be an entirely out-of-pocket cost, not to mention meeting a high deductible on her new plan, and the cost of medications she’ll need for the rest of her life.

On behalf of Aryahna and her family, we thank you for every thought, prayer, well wish, and dollar donated.