John’s Brain Tumor Surgery

On Thursday, August 31, 2023 while my family and I were on vacation in the Outer Banks in North Carolina my brother Johnny had a brain siezure in the living room while watching TV. While my other brother Kyle called 911 he started foaming at the mouth and stopped breathing for about 45 seconds. I was able to get him on his side, EMS arrived, the siezure stopped, but it took Johnny a good 10 minutes or so to get his bearings, realize what happened and what was going on. They were finally able to get him in the ambulance and rush him to The Outer Banks Hospital. They got him on anti-seizure medication and did an MRI. The results of the MRI found that Johnny has a tumor on his left temporal lobe.

Fast forward to Friday, September 8, 2023 Johnny got an appointment at Penn Medicine with Dr. Donald O’Rourke, who is one of the best Neurosurgeons in the country.

The tumor on Johnny’s left temporal lobe measures about 4.5 x 2.3 cm. He has brain surgery scheduled for Thursday, September 14, 2023. Dr. O’Rourke seems fairly confident he will be able to remove the entire tumor, but there is always the slight chance that he won’t be able to get all of it. If that’s the case Johnny will need Chemo / Radiation treatment to kill the remaining cells. The surgery takes about 5 hours and Johnny will be in the hospital for 3 days and 2 nights after the surgery. After they remove the tumor they will do a Patholgy test to find out exactly what it is, but we won’t have those results for about 4 weeks where he will also go back for a Post OP appointment. The total recovery time after the surgery is estimated to be 3 months.

I am starting this GoFundMe for my brother to raise money to help him with all his medical bills, copays and his regular bills since his job does not offer short term disability. As most of you know, around this time last year, in September 2022 Johnny was in a severe motorcycle accident leaving the Roslyn Car Show after winning the award for best bike. My brother and my entire family have been through a lot this past year and I would greatly appreciate if anyone is able to help by donating, sharing this link or both. I will make sure to update this page every time something new is completed or developes. Thank you all so very much and please keep my brother and family in your prayers.