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FARMINGTON — A Utah family who had hopes of spending the summer together in Italy is now facing a devastating diagnosis.
One week before Tyler Seamons, his wife, Rebecca, and their four children were supposed to head back to Utah, Tyler found out he had stage 4 brain cancer.
“They had run some tests and everything,” Rebecca Seamons said. “He got a CAT scan, and then a little bit later he had texted me and said they found a mass."
Within the week they found out the severity of the situation and the couple made the difficult decision to send their children back to Utah to be cared for by family while they remained in an Italian hospital in Trieste, near the Italian-Slovenian border.
They said weeks before, a pain in Tyler's head got progressively worse. Rebecca said her husband could not even get out of bed.
“He started getting more tired and started lying down more with a headache,” she said. “I knew something was wrong."
Doctors decided to perform emergency surgery to remove the tumor. The plan was to get Tyler back to Utah after he recovered from the procedure so he could start chemotherapy. But after 12 attempts at booking a commercial flight, the couple quickly found out flying home would be almost impossible.
“If the pilot doesn't feel comfortable with it ... he can deny the passenger,” Rebecca said. “The pilot gets last say on all medical situations."
Stage 4 cancer is not something you want to hear as a wife and someone who is trying to raise children with her wonderful husband.
–Rebecca Seamons
Tyler will only be able to come home on an air ambulance flight, which could cost the family nearly $100,000. They're now scrambling to come up with the money because they can't delay Tyler's chemotherapy treatments any longer.
If the Seamons are not able to come up with the funds, Tyler will need to start treatments in Italy. The family does not know how long that will take and worry the medical practices in Italy will not be enough to save his life.
A YouCaring account* has been set up to help pay for Tyler's medical flight. Rebecca is hopeful the family can get what they need to bring her husband back to the state.
“We are going to get him home. We are going to see his kids. He is going to start healing. He's going to get the care and attention he needs,” she said. “Stage 4 cancer is not something you want to hear as a wife and someone who is trying to raise children with her wonderful husband."
*KSL.com does not assure that the money 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 advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
