Dear Johnny,

My name is Arianna, I am sending you this letter because my family could really use some help.

On September 5, 2023 I had to take my oldest daughter Piper (9) to Children’s Mercy Hospital in downtown KC because she was having constant headaches, her left eye was presenting as a lazy eye out of nowhere, she was not wanting to eat, and she was very sluggish. That morning I decided I needed to get her to the hospital to see what was going on. They got her into the emergency room immediately and within an hour she was getting a CT scan. The ER Doctor that was with her came in to tell us the results of the CT Scan. They had my fiancé and I step out of the room and I knew something was wrong. They pulled us into a separate room to tell us that they found a mass on my daughter’s brain. The Neurosurgeon told us that he was 99% sure it was a Brain Tumor and told us that she would need an MRI that day, a biopsy the next day and surgery sometime in the next week most likely. I stayed at the hospital with Piper while they got the MRI set up for her. It did end up being a Brain Tumor located directly on her Spinal Cord, he told us that it had to be removed immediately. So, Piper was rushed into surgery that afternoon. After about 8 hours of surgery, the Neurosurgeon came out and told us that the Brain Tumor was huge and he got 97% of it, he wasn’t sure what kind of tumor it was yet until the pathology comes back in a few weeks. He said she did great and that she would be in the PICU for a few days but he was hoping she would recover nicely. We spent 2 days in the PICU and then were moved to the Neurosurgery follow up floor and we spent the next 2 1/2 - 3 weeks there.

After the tumor removal, her right side of her face is paralyzed for the time being and she could not walk, talk, use the restroom or anything on her own. She is now wheelchair bound and requires a 5 point harness car seat. We found out that she has what’s called Posterior Fossa Syndrome from the tumor removal, she is relearning everything at this moment and has been since she came out of surgery. She is now wheelchair bound and has to have full physical support daily. The Pathology came back and it is a low grade (slow growing Cancer) Pilocytic Astrocytoma tumor. She does have to get MRI’s every 6 months for the time being. If her tumor decides it wants to start growing then she will have to have more treatment.

My fiance is working full time, but I had to quit my job to be Piper’s full-time caregiver. I have been taking care of her and her two sisters. I am currently taking her to Ability KC Rehab facility here in Kansas City because they are really the only Pediatric facility that does intensive therapy that she needs at this moment! I drive her every week 5 days a week up here to get the rehab she needs. With help from my brother I bought a minivan that is lower, has more room, and is easier to load Piper in and out of. The last few months have been tough basically living off of one income, but I'm so happy to bring my oldest girl home and we can be a family again. It has put a strain on us financially. I am worried about rent coming due, getting tags for the minivan and the cost of gas to drive so much from Wellsville into KC. 

Thank you for listening to my story and I hope you have a happy holiday.

With Love,

Arianna Phares & Luke Campbell

Who Helped: Brad, Mark, Candy, Brian, Rob, Gene and Consentino’s

How You Helped: Van tax and tags, December rent, gas cards, Christmas for the kids, groceries