Help Khamon to fight Brian Tumor

My name is Lumang. I am a father of 4. Currently, my family and I live in Kearns, UT.

I have had many trials and tribulations in my life. However, I have never asked for help or posted about them on this platform. Today, I decided to do this fundraising to save my precious son’s life, Khamon. He was diagnosed with Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPD) 2 days ago. We were told that his life is limited.

Asking for help is hard when the reason seems unfathomable and there is no end in sight to solutions. I know this is just the beginning of a very long and tough journey for Khamon and my family.

I hope his story can be heard and contribution or sharing can be made to this fundraising!

Khamon’s story:

Khamon is 9 years old. He is a smart, kind, respectful, helpful, responsible, and dedicated child. Khamon and all of us (together 6 people) just moved from Cambodia to the US early May 2023.

Khamon had developed abnormal walking these past few days (October 2023) due to trouble maintaining balance. He got slurred speech in the last 4 or 5 weeks which we had noticed, but it was not a concern to us. His both eyes had turned slightly red about 3 or 4 weeks ago, but they turned to normal. We thought he was on his screen too much. Then he got odd eyes movements these last few days. He also got dripped saliva. He vomited while he was having breakfast these last two days. He used to be a strong and alert boy. His previous version of himself has changed.

Upon seeing these, I took him to see a doctor. During the examination, he was asked to walk in one line. He felt down when he did so. He was asked to stand on one of his feet and he felt down again. After physical examination, the doctor said that there is something in his brain that leads him to get these symptoms.

Worse News:

After brain scanning, doctors told us that Khamon got brains tumor on the pons of his brain. It is called Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in which is an aggressive type of childhood cancer that forms in the brainstem. They are very rare and almost always occur in the pediatric population. This shocked me and my family. My wife and I got anxiety, nervous, and heartbroken.

Daunting future: Radiation & Chemo therapy

It is most likely malignant tumor according to the neurologist. Biopsy will be confirmed in the next 5 to 7 more days. After everything is confirmed radiation & chemo therapy will be provided in the next 7 to 10 more days.

Khamon: Just a little boy facing incredible challenges

In just a few short day’s Khamon went from smiling and playing to having to face unfathomably difficult physical challenges. Khamon’s biopsy went as well as it could have. He has not responded to the command as he supposes to do after the procedure. Marida and I have not left him side for these few days to make sure that every time Khamon opens his eyes that one of us is there.

What we can do: We need to continue his treatments and fervently prayers for miracles!

Unknown: What happens next

There are so many unknowns for Khamon as his biopsies are analyzed and his radiation and chemotherapy treatment started. Every day there are little glimmers of hope for recovery and also unfortunately medical setbacks that are daunting and exhausting for Khamon and my family.

Unknown costs:

There are so many unknowns in this process:

Were they able to remove all of the aggressive tumor?

What treatment will be decided for Khamon?

Will Khamon recover mentally and physically from his treatment?

How long will he have to be in the hospital?

Will we stay or be transferred to a different location with alternate medical care?

How will we cover additional travel expenses?

How will we cover bills?

What kind of physical, occupational and speech therapies will he need?

Will he need at home medical support?

How much of this does insurance cover?

When can we go back to work to have a means of supporting ourselves?

Timeline:

August 21, 2023: Khamon got slurred speech.

September 16, 2023: Khamon got slightly red eyes.

Oct 4, 2023: Khamon got vomiting while he was having breakfast.

Oct 8, 2023: Khamon got odd eyes movement.

Oct 10, 2023: Khamon got vomiting while he was having breakfast.

Oct 11, 2023: Khamon got vomiting while he was having breakfast.

Oct 11, 2023: After school, I took Khamon to see a doctor because I saw he is abnormal.

Oct 11, 2023: Khamon got MRI scanned and found that he has tumor on the pons of the brain.

Oct 12, 2023: He got biopsy of the tumor.

Oct 13, 2023: He is still not a wake from the biopsy procedure. He has been unable to drink, eat or swallow yet. He supposes to wake up and can eat, drink, and walk, but things seem not work the way it should be. His status went worse and he was sent back to ICU.

Oct 14, 2023: Woke up in the morning and smiled at us. He could say ‘’hungry.’’

Oct 15, 2023:

Khamon woke up a few time and gained some strength last night. He communicates with his mom and nurses with tablet. He told nurse in the middle of the night that he needed his family. The nurse woke my wife up to see him. My wife was tired, so she took some sleep. This morning Khamon asked doctor to go outside for fresh air. Hopefully, he can hear and speak like before the biopsy!

Thank you for reading, caring, sharing and contributing!