Our sweet Wyatt is a brave warrior that has had to face challenge after challenge since being diagnosed with brain cancer in July of 2023. On July 21st, four year old Wyatt was rushed to the ER at Cincinnati Children’s after complaining of a headache and nausea in the middle of the night. Our family’s worst fears were confirmed when the medical team identified a 4 cm x 4 cm tumor in the posterior fossa region of his brain.

On July 26th, Wyatt successfully underwent a 9-hour surgery to remove the tumor. It was believed for weeks that the entire tumor was removed. But on MRI imaging done 2 weeks prior to radiation, a small piece was found remaining in the brain stem.  In the days following the surgery, Wyatt’s speech and motor skills were noticeably decreased. This was to be expected considering the magnitude of the surgery, and he required extensive therapies to help him regain his balance and ability to walk independently. He is doing much better in these areas today.

On August 2nd, the doctors diagnosed Wyatt's tumor as a malignant Ependymoma, a rare and aggressive tumor that originates in the Central Nervous System and affects less than 200 kids in the United States per year. Unfortunately, it’s also a cancer that has a tendency to grow back. It's also more likely to come back due to a piece being left after surgery. This is extremely scary since reoccurrence of ependymoma has no set treatment plan and chemo has so far been ineffective.

In addition to his first surgery, Wyatt had another surgery to place a permanent shunt to help with fluid drainage that contributed to him being hospitalized for 42 days. For post surgery treatment, Wyatt had 6 weeks of proton radiation. While home waiting for radiation he struggled for a long while (even some to this day) with eating because of nausea and other issues after surgery. Through it all Wyatt has shown the strength and courage he has. He is resilient and hopes for a day when there will be no more cancer in kids or adults. He has an amazing support team consisting of family, friends, community, and strangers far and wide all praying for him to be okay and kick cancers butt!! Team Wyatt is behind him all the way!

"When our sweet and courageous son Wyatt was first diagnosed with brain cancer in July of 2023 at the young age of 4, we were shocked and heartbroken as a family and felt like we were helpless in this fight against a rare pediatric brain cancer called Ependymoma. Doctors informed us that this cancer and the location of it (near the brainstem in the Posterior Fossa) had a likely chance of returning and returning with more aggression. It was going to be difficult to treat if it returned due to the location and the fact that there are no known treatments for it and chemo is typically ineffective. A few months after diagnosis, surgery and Proton Radiation, we found The Cure Starts Now. From the moment our family began to work with The Cure Starts Now, we felt that "helplessness" disappear and it gave me a mission that I will continue for the rest of my life...a mission to do all that is possible to help be part of the solution and find a CURE for all kids fighting pediatric brain cancer. By becoming an Ambassador family, we promise a lifetime commitment to use every avenue we have to raise awareness and funding to go towards finding the CURE to end all cancer for kids!" -The Wyatt Family

Thank you for choosing to donate to The Cure Starts Now Foundation. 100% of this donation, after credit card processing fees, goes directly towards research to find the homerun cure for cancer starting with pediatric brain cancer research.

If you would like to make a donation by mail please send a check to:  The Cure Starts Now Foundation; 10280 Chester Road; Cincinnati, OH 45215 and put the child's name in the memo.

The family receives notification of all donations made to this tribute fund automatically.