JOSIAH REIS' JOURNEY
Donation protected
The saying, “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers” is made for this kid. Josiah Kaena Reis is a full-of-life 12-year old boy. He loves school, loves playing baseball, has a passion for trucks and cars, loves art and is also very talented himself with his drawings. The 2 things he loves and cares about the most is his family and life itself. He is grateful and feels very blessed for his mom (Ericka), his dad (Jacob), older brother (Anu), younger brother (Joseph), little sister (Ember) and his soon to be baby brother. The only thing holding him back from living his life to the fullest is this recurring brain tumor.
Aloha everyone, My nephew, Josiah, was first diagnosed with a rare brain tumor back in 2013. This tumor is called Craniopharyngioma and it is usually found near the pituitary gland. It was discovered when he was just 5 years old. At the time, he would sleep more than the other kids his age, always felt nauseous, get really bad headaches, had sinus issues and he was having problems with his vision. Every time he would go to the doctor’s, they would say it was a common cold, the flu, a sinus infection, the vog was causing his headaches or making his sinus act up, you name it. My sister (Ericka Reis) and brother-in-law (Jacob Reis) decided to take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist for his vision issue and they found that Josiah’s optic nerves were swollen, which meant something was pushing against it. That lead them to get an MRI done right away and that is how the tumor was discovered. The area the tumor was in, and because the tumor was already so big, it caused him to have all those symptoms and damaged his peripheral vision so much that it is completely gone in his left eye. In less than 24 hours after the diagnosis, they did an emergency surgery to remove the tumor. It was a very scary, emotional time for him and his family, but the 5-hour Craniotomy went extremely well. Josiah recovered at an amazing rate, with minimal side effects. We are all so very grateful and blessed for the doctors and nurses who helped Josiah and for Josiah coming out even stronger.
For 6 years, Josiah has had annual MRI’s done to make sure there was no regrowth of the tumor and for 6 years, his MRI’s were absolutely, perfectly clear. We always expect the same out-come as the last, whenever he goes for his yearly MRI because of how well everything went. Then out of the blue, the MRI Josiah had done over the summer, showed a small mass forming in about the same area as the first. We were absolutely devastated. Josiah has been living his life day by day and as normal as he possibly can since finding out. When you see him, you wouldn’t even know that anything is wrong because he doesn’t show it. This time around, the tumor was caught earlier than the last, so one option given is to stay home, on Oahu, and do another craniotomy to get the tumor off his optic nerve and then follow up with gamma knife radiation to kill the cells and shrink whatever tumor is left after surgery. Ericka and Jacob got to do research this time around and found that St. Jude offers a proton radiation, which is less invasive and may possibly be done without surgery!
We are still not sure which route will be taken yet, but we do know that the surgery or radiation will be done sometime within the next couple of months. Once the Reis family get word on when and where Josiah will be having his procedure done, Jacob could possibly be out of work for a couple of months or so. Ericka will be giving birth soon and will also be unable to work. I have setup this GoFundMe account to help my family out with medical bills, living expenses, and possible travel to Tennessee if Josiah gets accepted to St. Jude. This is a very unexpected and tough time for the Reis Ohana. Any donations you may be willing to give is very much appreciated. I would like to ask you all to keep Josiah and his family in your mind, as you say your prayers. Help me pray for the best outcome, good health, strength and comfort during this difficult time. On behalf of the Reis Ohana, I would like to thank you all for your love, support, prayers and good faith. We will keep you all updated.
Donations can be made here, through gofundme or through Venmo @ErickaReis
Aloha everyone, My nephew, Josiah, was first diagnosed with a rare brain tumor back in 2013. This tumor is called Craniopharyngioma and it is usually found near the pituitary gland. It was discovered when he was just 5 years old. At the time, he would sleep more than the other kids his age, always felt nauseous, get really bad headaches, had sinus issues and he was having problems with his vision. Every time he would go to the doctor’s, they would say it was a common cold, the flu, a sinus infection, the vog was causing his headaches or making his sinus act up, you name it. My sister (Ericka Reis) and brother-in-law (Jacob Reis) decided to take him to a pediatric ophthalmologist for his vision issue and they found that Josiah’s optic nerves were swollen, which meant something was pushing against it. That lead them to get an MRI done right away and that is how the tumor was discovered. The area the tumor was in, and because the tumor was already so big, it caused him to have all those symptoms and damaged his peripheral vision so much that it is completely gone in his left eye. In less than 24 hours after the diagnosis, they did an emergency surgery to remove the tumor. It was a very scary, emotional time for him and his family, but the 5-hour Craniotomy went extremely well. Josiah recovered at an amazing rate, with minimal side effects. We are all so very grateful and blessed for the doctors and nurses who helped Josiah and for Josiah coming out even stronger.
For 6 years, Josiah has had annual MRI’s done to make sure there was no regrowth of the tumor and for 6 years, his MRI’s were absolutely, perfectly clear. We always expect the same out-come as the last, whenever he goes for his yearly MRI because of how well everything went. Then out of the blue, the MRI Josiah had done over the summer, showed a small mass forming in about the same area as the first. We were absolutely devastated. Josiah has been living his life day by day and as normal as he possibly can since finding out. When you see him, you wouldn’t even know that anything is wrong because he doesn’t show it. This time around, the tumor was caught earlier than the last, so one option given is to stay home, on Oahu, and do another craniotomy to get the tumor off his optic nerve and then follow up with gamma knife radiation to kill the cells and shrink whatever tumor is left after surgery. Ericka and Jacob got to do research this time around and found that St. Jude offers a proton radiation, which is less invasive and may possibly be done without surgery!
We are still not sure which route will be taken yet, but we do know that the surgery or radiation will be done sometime within the next couple of months. Once the Reis family get word on when and where Josiah will be having his procedure done, Jacob could possibly be out of work for a couple of months or so. Ericka will be giving birth soon and will also be unable to work. I have setup this GoFundMe account to help my family out with medical bills, living expenses, and possible travel to Tennessee if Josiah gets accepted to St. Jude. This is a very unexpected and tough time for the Reis Ohana. Any donations you may be willing to give is very much appreciated. I would like to ask you all to keep Josiah and his family in your mind, as you say your prayers. Help me pray for the best outcome, good health, strength and comfort during this difficult time. On behalf of the Reis Ohana, I would like to thank you all for your love, support, prayers and good faith. We will keep you all updated.
Donations can be made here, through gofundme or through Venmo @ErickaReis
Organizer and beneficiary
Nicole Ige
Organizer
Wahiawā, HI
Ericka Ige Reis
Beneficiary