My Baby Brother

My Baby Brother

Trish

Kori is a 26 year old, loving, caring, fun person. He prides himself in caring for his Mom, as well as 11 nieces and nephews. Kori has always been very athletic and healthy. In May of 2013 Kori began having excruciating headaches. After seeing his primary physician several times he eventually went to the hospital, where an MRI was performed and a growth was discovered. Since Kori was only 26 years old, there was no way that this could be anything more than a benign growth … or so we thought. After several tests and a biopsy, the doctors discovered that Kori had a malignant brain tumor called Anaplastic Astrocytoma Stage 3.

Given the location the tumor, it was impossible to operate without possibly killing or completely paralyzing him. The doctors recommended Chemotherapy and Radiation to control the growth of the tumor. He began a rigorous Chemotherapy cycle in September of 2013. These cycles continued until May of 2014. On June 4th 2014, Kori went for his MRI, which showed that the tumor had grown, and was no longer responding to the treatments. The doctors were unable to offer any treatment alternatives that would continue to control or shrink the tumor. At that point our family decided not to throw in the towel, but to get other opinions, and contact other oncologists that were willing and able to offer alternative treatment. Although we had been able to schedule several appointments with different facilities, some of the visits have out of pocket costs as well as travel expenses. With Kori’s condition progressing and health declining, medical equipment is also needed. Although he did have medical insurance the amount that insurance is willing to pay is very limited, and that is the reason we decided to set up this fundraiser. Our Goal at the time was to raise at least $15,000. On June 23rd, a week shy of Kori’s 27th birthday, Kori lost his battle to brain cancer.

Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.