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HURRICANE — After a 16-year-old had surgery to remove a rare tumor, a Hurricane community planned a benefit raffle and concert to help with medical costs.
Jen Stephens moved to Hurricane with her family eight months ago. She said her 16-year-old son, Kyle, developed a cough in June and after several weeks of his continuous coughing, she decided to take him to the Hurricane Valley Clinic urgent care.
At 16 years old, Kyle is 6 feet 6 inches tall and wears a size 16 shoe. Jen Stephens said when the urgent care doctor looked at Kyle, he strongly urged her to get his blood tested.
“He took one look at Kyle and he said, ‘I know you are here for a cough and I really don’t mean to scare you, but I really think you need to get his blood work checked for syndromes, gene problems and tumors.’ He was really adamant.”
Stephens said she took Kyle to their family doctor who determined after several blood tests and an MRI that Kyle had a rare brain tumor pressing on his pituitary gland. The tumor was diagnosed as Type A aggressive and required surgery. Kyle had the tumor removed by neurosurgeons at the University of Utah Hospital on June 24, only two weeks after diagnosis.
Stephens said the tumor had not caused any symptoms like headaches or blurred vision — it just made Kyle grow really big. She said she’d thought once the tumor was removed, Kyle would return to normal and stop growing, but the doctors discovered his growth plates were “still open” and had to give him shots to stop his growth.
“Because all of his hormone levels are so off, he has to get blood work every four weeks and an MRI every six months for the rest of his life,” Stephens said. “It’s life changing to say the least. He has to take medication. He was taking a shot every 28 days, but now he went over to a shot every two weeks. I told him, ‘Your life is changed, bud.’ ”
Stephens said she hopes their story can create awareness for brain pituitary tumors to alert others of potential problems.
"If it even reaches one parent whose child has something like Kyle's, it's all worth it," she said.
When Stephens' friend, Chelsey Vick, heard about the surgery and mounting medical costs, she said she wanted to do something to help.
“As a mother, I can’t imagine,” Vick said. “I would hope that somebody would do something kind for my child if I was the mother in that situation.”
With donations from local businesses, Vick organized a raffle and concert to help raise money for the Stephens family. The event will be held Sept. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Hurricane Swig at 1550 W. State Street. A *GoFundMe account was also created for the Stephens family.
*KSL.com has not verified the accuracy of the information provided with respect to the account nor does KSL.com assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
