A funding page has been set up for a former Antrim footballer who has been told he has only three months to live.
Kevin Carey is a 35-year-old from Portglenone who has been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.
His wife Natasha has set up this GoFundMe page in order to raise £205,000 for pioneering immunotherapy treatment, his last hope for survival.
Kevin became ill last year in Portstewart when he had a number of seizures. Initially misdiagnosed with sudden onset epilepsy, it later transpired that the civil engineer had an aggressive, grade four terminal brain tumour.
He had major brain surgery in September 2015, followed by several rounds of both radio-chemotherapy and full strength chemotherapy.
The couple thought that the treatment had been successful until June of this year when, a year to the day of his initial diagnosis, he was told that the treatment hadn’t worked.
“To our devastation, the tumour had resisted all treatment,” Natasha writes.
“It had become active again. Growing so aggressively it had wrapped itself around major brain arteries, making its way higher up into Kevin’s brain. On 26th July 2016 we were told Kevin had a three month life expectancy, even with more chemotherapy.
“Kevin had to make a rapid decision to choose whether or not to undergo risky, specialist neurosurgery, away from home, in London, to try again to remove the bulk of the tumour.
“Kevin is the bravest, most fearless man I know, and replied to the three month life expectancy news with “I won’t be beaten, I want to fight.”
“We got on the next flight to London, where Kevin had fully awake (local anaesthetic) brain surgery, which lasted 5 hours. The neurosurgeon checked Kevin’s functions (movement, speech, vision) throughout. The awake surgery was a horrific experience for Kevin. The neurosurgeons said Kevin experienced a lot of pain, and that ‘he gave them everything he had’.
“One experienced neurosurgeon said it was one of the hardest things she has ever had to witness. Kevin has taught them, and me, what strength really means.
“With Kevin’s relentless cooperation the neurosurgeons in London managed to remove 95-97% of the tumour. However the remaining 3-5% is still aggressive, and it’s against the clock now to try to halt its growth.
“Kevin’s only hope at a chance of prolonging his life, getting his future back; his job back, and his happy ending to this horrific ordeal; is pioneering Immunotherapy at UCLH, London.
“Immunotherapy teaches the immune system to find and attack the brain cancer cells. However it is only available privately and will cost £205,000. We are putting all our personal finances, every penny we have, into funding this treatment, plus travelling back and forth to London, but we can’t meet it alone.
“I want Kevin to know he is not alone in this fight for his life.
“Please help Kevin fight this brain tumour in any way you can. We really need your help. You can help by donating, and/or sharing his story, fundraising on his behalf, or asking friends, family or colleagues about fundraising advice or grants Kevin may be able to receive. Thank you for reading Kevin’s story, we appreciate all your help.”
You can help Kevin raise the funds he needs by clicking here >
