Mike Carney's Fight Against Brain Cancer

Hi friends and family. With hopeful hearts, we are choosing to share our story with you so that we can provide care for our father, husband, son, brother, and friend Mike Carney as he battles brain cancer and related complications.

Last year, on March 1, 2022 Mike was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a grade 4 brain tumor. With its 6-12 month prognosis, this diagnosis hit our family hard; unsurprisingly, Mike chose to fight. Mike underwent surgery to remove the tumor and began multiple rounds of chemo/radiation/electrotherapy to prevent tumor recurrence. He was able to return to work, drive, and live a relatively normal life throughout recovery. With no tumor recurrence, our family was hopeful, confident, and entirely unprepared for the events that have transpired over the last several months.

This March, in a routine scan, doctors noticed a mass in the existing tumor cavity and prepared for minimally invasive surgery to ablate the tissue with laser technology; however, just 24 hours before the procedure, we were notified that the hospital did not have the necessary equipment for the procedure. We were urged to proceed with a full craniotomy, just a year after his first operation. After rushed deliberation, Mike decided to move forward and underwent the procedure. We were told that surgery went smoothly and, relieved, prepared for a recovery process similar to the previous year.

Unfortunately, 18 days after the procedure, Mike was again hospitalized after he fell in our home due to dizziness and disorientation. Doctors noticed an unusual amount of swelling on the left side of his brain and we went home with a treatment plan to address the swelling. Mike's condition continued to decline over the next month and on May 12, 2023, we called an ambulance.

Mike was admitted to the neuro ICU where he was treated for 56 days. We learned that the swelling, pain and delirium had been due to a post-operative infection that had been brewing, untreated, since the craniotomy. The infection progressed to a point where it left scar tissue throughout his brain, leaving his body unable to absorb cerebral spinal fluid and in need of a permanent shunt to prevent hydrocephalus. After this operation, Mike moved to the neurology floor of the hospital and then to an inpatient rehabilitation program to regain his strength. On August 3, 2023, we finally brought Mike home after nearly three months of hospitalization.

There are no words to describe the devastating repercussions of this infection and the toll it continues to take on our family. Moving forward, Mike will need full-time, in-home rehabilitation, care, and supervision for the indefinite future. With Mike unable to work, his wife Tracy must return to work full-time starting this week, August 22, 2023 and cannot support this need. The cost of the care that Mike needs is expensive, out-of-pocket, and we cannot afford it without help.

We love Mike so much and are absolutely heartbroken to see him like this. Mike is an Air Force Academy graduate and 26-year veteran. He makes everyone he meets feel like the most important person. He is so unbelievably funny, kind, and selfless. He is a friend to all. We miss him. We need him to come back to us, and we need help to give him the best chance at recovery. The road ahead is long, but encouraged by Mike's determination and strength, we refuse to give up hope. Thank you for your love and support not just now, but throughout our lives and moving forward. We are so grateful.

Love,

The Carney Family