Who is The fundraising for and why?The Kayla Gray Mini Session Fundraiser is raise treatment and recovery funding for a very sweet 14 year old girl.
Kayla is my cousin. And until recently was a little low on energy at times but a pretty typical teenager. She is super sweet, good student, loves playing hockey and spending time with her friends and family. Unfortunately in the last year Kayla had some incidents that lead to what we now know is Medulloblastoma (Brain Cancer), Stage 4. This was a complete shock to the family. Kayla had a previous diagnoses of Klines-Levin Syndrome(Sleeping Beauty Syndrome) and although she was feeling sick around the holidays, it seemed like a bad flu when we saw her during our visit. Thankfully as it progressed her diligent parents realized it worse than it should be all things considered and took her to her doctor again, and now Kayla is in the BC Children's Hospital (You can read the full details in the message from Chelsea to the right). Why? Cancer treatments are very costly, 8 weeks of chemotheraphy can cost up to $30,000, time off work, housing, travel and recovery costs... On top emotion stress the last this a family needs right now is a lot of financial stress. So, On Thursday March 11th, I will be booking as many photo sessions as I can fit in Minimum Donation of $75 unless you bring a friend the minimum is reduced to $50 Each. I am donating my time, You get beautiful photos and Kayla and Gray family have at the very least less financial stress so they can have time to focus on Kayla's health, treatment and recovery. I appreciate your time and support and hope you enjoy your photos. Please know that with your smile you're helping others smile too. Thank you - Jessica |
This is a message written by a family friend, Chelsea, when we first found out: "February, 18, 2016, Kayla had a two CT's at the Kamloops Hospital. She had been having really bad headaches last week, and was previously diagnosed with Klein Levins Syndrome earlier this year after having an episode last summer and then again at Christmas time. The headaches were a different occurance for her other symptoms, hence the CT scans. After the scans, the Dr's told Leah and Arnie(Kayla's Mom & Dad) they had to get Kayla down to Children's Hospital immediately. They drove down right away. Early Friday morning, Leah messaged me to say that Kayla had a tumor on the back of her brain, and that the MRI scheduled later that day would tell more. Immediately after the MRI that showed only one tumor, Kayla was taken into surgery to remove it. They were told the surgery would take anywhere from 4-12 hours. It took 8. Afterwards, Kayla was breathing on her own and moving both arms, which the Dr's were worried about. Saturday and Sunday were tough days...Kayla was pretty groggy, not sleeping well, having nausea, and being aggitated(likely the meds) but both days the Dr's were satisfied with her progress. Sunday was another MRI, checking for accessive swelling, and that went well. Kayla also had a visit with Physio and they had her sitting up. This Monday and Tuesday, was more progress each day, except that Kayla's right arm is not quite operating as it should and she was still having trouble keeping any food down. Wednesday was day for improvement, Kayla had a really good sleep in the morning, and was eating quite a bit. I visited that day, Kayla had some smiles for all of us. She asked me to tell her some of my funny stories (she had told her mom previously that "Chels swears alot, she's pretty funny), so of course I kept her entertained for a while. She was awake the whole time and I couldn't believe how much she ate. I was glad to see them. Today(Feb 26th), the results of the biopsy were shared with Leah and Arnie. It breaks my heart to say the tumor was cancerous. The type of cancer is called Medulloblastoma, and it is Stage 4. A spinal tap will be done asap to make sure the cancer hasn't travelled to Kayla's spine. They will likely start radiation in about 3 weeks when Kayla is stronger, and that will last for 6 weeks...treatments every day, Monday to Friday. There will be a 4 week break, and then they will start chemo. I want to thank everybody again for their love and support, its so crazy to learn how many people really truly care, and its only been a week. This is going to be a long road, but I have a ton of faith in Kayla's strength." |
Love and Support For Kayla & her family |
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