Support during Landon’s brain surgery and recovery

If you know me you know Hailey and if you know Hailey you know she has been a sister to me since we were little girls. We were inseparable for so long. If you know Hailey and I, you know I thought I was her protector growing up I always acted like she was my baby even though we are only a year apart. Landon is my godson and I feel so helpless in this situation. With that being said I felt like the least I could do was set up this GoFundMe to take some of the stress of medical bills and bills in general off their plate.

Our sweet Landon is a big-hearted 8-year-old boy that most would describe as a kind soul. He is now fighting to regain as normal a life as possible.

Landon was a normal active boy with a heart of gold...he loved baseball, football, basketball, swimming, jumping on his trampoline and riding his bike. Landon loved and played both football and baseball but decided that baseball was his favorite sport and committed full time. His dad, Justin was a football and basketball standout in high school and received a scholarship to play football in college. It didn’t take long for Justin to walk away from books and sports and run back to his real love, his high school sweetheart, Hailey. Hailey’s mom, Kimmy, was like a second mom to Justin and treated him as such. Just a few months before graduating high school, Hailey lost her mom to cancer. It was a tough start for this young couple as they ventured out on their own and even tougher as their blessing in disguise was born 1 year later. With the support of family and friends Justin, Hailey and Landon started a new life. Now, eight years later the once young family of three is a family of six with 4 very active boys. Baseball, which Justin knew nothing about, had become the family obsession with Justin coaching still learning as he goes.

At the beginning of the 2023 season, Landon started striking out and missing balls in the field, which was not a normal occurrence for him. Although Landon was getting serious heckling from his uncles and cousins, his father (being the gentle giant that Justin is) stayed patient and tried to let Landon work through it. On June 14th Landon struck out twice and came off the field crying after missing a ball. When Justin called Landon over to console him, Landon told him that he was seeing two of everything and had to close one eye when he was trying to catch a ball. Landon, being the easy-going child that he is, was just dealing with these issues and trying to adapt, even though this had been going on for months.

On June 15, 2023 Landon went to see his pediatrician, who sent him to see an ophthalmologist, who sent him to see a neurologist, who sent him for an MRI. Before they returned home from the MRI, the Neurologist called and told Hailey and Justin to take Landon to Children’s Hospital immediately. In 24-hours Hailey and Justin had been through a whirlwind of doctor appointments and found out Landon had a mass in his brain stem that was bleeding. Landon was diagnosed with a cavernous malformation in his brain stem as well as a Chiari malformation and had to spend a week at Children’s Hospital while they stabilized him. The doctors determined the best course of action was to monitor Landon over time, as surgery in the brain stem should be a last resort, and hope the bleeding would subside. The neurosurgeon said surgery would almost certainly leave Landon with neurological and physical disabilities.

Landon had to quit organized sports immediately but never complained, even though he loved playing baseball. The doctors told Hailey and Justin to try let Landon be a boy as much as possible but to monitor his symptoms. Landon continued to get routine MRIs.

By September the bleeding on Landon’s brain had doubled in size. The doctors were shocked that Landon’s only symptoms were headaches, double vision and that his eyes had gone cross.

At the most recent appointment on December 14, 2023, the blood on Landon’s brain had tripled in size and is putting an excessive amount of pressure on the brain stem. Although Landon’s symptoms now included some leg weakness and facial paralysis, the doctors were amazed with Landon and said his symptoms should be significantly worse considering the change they saw on the MRI. Unfortunately, surgery was now necessary as the bleeding was not stopping and becoming more excessive. Landon was scheduled for brain surgery on January 2, 2024.

Over the next 5 days Landon’s symptoms progressed to include difficulty walking and standing with occasional falls, increased facial paralysis and drooling, complete loss of vision in his right eye, numbness in his left hand, difficulty swallowing, and going to bed crying each night with a headache. Due to Landon’s decline, he is now scheduled for emergency surgery on December 26, 2023.

Landon’s positivity and strength through this process has been nothing short of amazing…he will tell you that he is and will be fine. He tries his best to hide his symptoms, so his family and friends won’t worry. He is constantly smiling and in a good mood, making jokes and playing with his younger brothers.

Through all of this Hailey and Justin have been trying to balance life with 4 boys, work and now caring for a child with a serious medical condition. Unfortunately, Justin was let go from job after 5 years with no warning due to missing time for Landon. Justin is now working several part time jobs overnight so he and Hailey can alternate being home with the boys as Landon needs 24-hour care. They do not know when Justin will be able to return to full-time work, because Landon’s condition post-surgery is still to be determined. The medical bills are piling up, the co-pay per visit is $900-$1500 with several $50,000 surgeries expected.

If you would like to donate directly we also have a Venmo and Cash app.

I will also be setting up a meal train and will attach the link shortly.

For updates feel free to add Landon’s Facebook group. The group name is Landon’s Chiari & Cavernous Malformation Fight