Mikayla’s medical expenses

Mikayla’s story

December 2022, I went in to the emergency room because I started to notice a constant twitch happening in the left side of my face. I received an MRI where they found a mass lesion on my brain stem, what I now know is most likely a brain stem glioma, that would be impossible to remove. I was given the option to try to biopsy the mass and find out what exactly it may be or just blindly treat it without knowing for sure. A biopsy would prove extremely difficult due to the location where it could cause brain bleeding or other complications. I decided to have a biopsy done because I just needed/wanted to know, and my pathology came back inconclusive as they could not get a good sample of tissue. I started to bleed and they had to stop immediately. As I healed from surgery, I was scanned 3 months later where it was determined that the mass was not fast growing and it was not necessary to start treatment immediately as I could only treat once and I wasn’t having severe symptoms of any kind. I was given the option by the doctor in Houston to participate in a trial, which I later found out I would have to receive radiation before I could participate. I was also incredibly stressed about the thought of radiation treatment and the situation around it as I would have to stop and uproot my whole life for 6 weeks in order to relocate to Shreveport for treatment. So I decided to wait and watch. Fast forward again to this past November 2023, I got another scan after 6 months where the mass showed minimal growth. However I have started to develop other symptoms that I was not dealing with before. Splitting, debilitating headaches induced by coughing, straining, or laughing. Most of the time they just go away, sometimes leaving a lasting headache that is manageable. This is paired with complete loss of hearing in my left ear and noticeable balance issues, lower energy levels than normal and also some breathing/swallowing issues. I do not feel well a lot of the time. The twitch in my face is noticeably worse. I decided to follow up with my doctor in Shreveport where we have decided it’s best to start treatment as soon as possible. When symptoms start developing it is often very hard to reverse them and any damage could become permanent. All this to say, I come to you asking for help. Not only will I have to take extended leave from work, ceasing my income for 6 weeks, but my sweet mom has offered to drop everything to be with me while I treat and bring me to and from treatments every day. This will cause her to also be without income for 6 weeks. I could not do this without her. I have no means of transportation and would have no way to get to and from treatment. I am so incredibly grateful for her willingness to do anything I need in order to be okay. We will have to find somewhere to stay in Shreveport for 6 weeks and be able to pay for our lives while away. Bills won’t stop at home, and we will need funds to pay for a place to stay/food/gas etc while away. We don’t have dates just yet but we are planning to start treatment as soon as we can. Some insurance things to get sorted and we hit the ground running. Hoping to have some concrete dates in the coming days but we are trying to get a head start on some hardships we may face while away. I just want to say I don’t know how I would be able to make it through this whole thing without my mom with me at every step. I am so incredibly lucky to have her. It is clear she will do whatever it takes to make this experience as comfortable as it can be and for that I’m eternally grateful. I realize that not everyone can have the luxury of having someone by their side for every painful step of this kind of situation but she has made this so much easier on me, even by just being with me for every appointment, reminding me we’ll get through whatever it is we have to go through. Not to mention she has her own health issues she’s dealing with and so Thank you mom I love you. No one could predict having to be in this situation asking your peers for help, and I never saw this coming. I try my best to keep a positive outlook and continue to live life as I would without facing this. Taking it one day at a time. This is the next step to getting my life back to the closest to normal it can get. To anyone who has already donated, sincerely thank you so much. It means the world to me you would find it in yourself to give what you can to lighten the burden this has caused on us. Thank you. Pls share