The Bliayang Family

Saint Paul, MN

$4,151.82 raised of $7,000.00

Medical Bills $6,000.00

54%

6 months

Car Payment $1,000.00

93%

1 months

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Story

Name

Kayla Bliayang

Injury/Illness

Brain Tumor

My daughter's name is Kayla and she is 14 years old. Born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she lives with her parents and two brothers. She has a large family consisting of a great-grandmother, four grandparents, eleven (that is 11) uncles, one aunt, and all their extended families (28 cousins to be exact). She started high school this year and joined the girl's volleyball team. She began practice with her team over the summer and into the fall. On the evening of Friday, November 13th, 2020, she returned home and had a medical emergency in which was unable to speak or move. She was immediately taken to Children's Hospital in Saint Paul. The Emergency Department did an amazing job stabilizing her and ordered a CAT scan of her head. It was then determined that she suffered a brain bleed and a tumor was found in her brain. Four days later, she had a successful surgery for resection of the tumor and she remains in the hospital for recovery. She is making big strides each day and at times, each hour; though they seem slow and she may take a step back before going forward, they are nothing short of miraculous. She is determined more than ever and motivated to get back to the life and family that are waiting for her. The plan is for her to transition to an inpatient rehab facility for however long that may be. It is going to be a long journey and we are going to work as long and as hard as we have to. She deserves the best opportunity possible and with the help of family, friends, and her medical team she will have the life that she deserves.

Family Updates

December 3, 2020

Food. Food. Food.

Hi all. Since yesterday (12/2), Kayla has been able to eat some real food for the first time in 3 weeks! As with any major surgery, simple tasks like eating and drinking become huge obstacles as it must be done in a safe and timely manner. Not only did she have a major surgery, but the location of where the tumor was (in the back of her head) affects her breathing, digestion, swallowing, and speech to name a few. She is obviously starting with soft foods and ice chips and we will be add more each day.

Also, her body strength is getting better and better. She is out of bed more frequently during the day and staying active. She uses stress balls to work the muscles in her hands and arms while she catches up on her favorite Anime shows. She also does leg exercises when she's laying in bed. She will be working on her speech every day, but in the meantime we are able to communicate with Yes/No questions. We have a general idea of the things she likes/dislikes so it's not too hard to figure out what she needs or wants at any time. We are committed to making sure that she gets whatever it is she needs at the moment and we will do our best to make her comfortable as she cannot tell us with words.

She is aware of all the love and well wishes sent her way. At times, its overwhelming but it makes her that much more determined to keep going each day. We may be with her physically, but we know that it is everyone at home that she is leaning on to get stronger. One thing is for sure, she misses her little cousins and babies every day. She must be counting down the days. Let's keep each other safe while we wait for Kayla to come home. We can't wait to see you all. Vaccines first. Stay smart. Stay safe. Stay home.

We love you and we appreciate you.

December 1, 2020

12/1/2020 - Getting Stronger Each Day

This is Kayla's first update since we created our page. Its been two long weeks since we first came into the hospital and we have spent three weekends here by her side. Both mom and dad have been with her every night and visit her brothers as often as we can. First and foremost, I would like to say "Thank you" to all of our family and friends who kept us strong and have kept Kayla in their thoughts and prayers. We all needed every bit of it. As stated in her profile, the surgery was as successful as it could be and we are in the recovery phase.

She is resting as much as she is able and working through the days with physical, occupational, and speech therapy. There is improvement every day and regardless of what the pathology results will be, we know we have a long road ahead of us to get her healthier and stronger. She was able to get dressed today, with help of course, it just feels good to be in your own clothes. It makes for a more comfortable stay with little pieces of home, her brother Aidan helped pick out her new clothes. Thank you big bro!!!

She is currently on an NG tube feed and water for 20 hours and off for 4 hours during the day. Other than that, there are no more tubes or IVs connected!!! She is free to sit up and be wheeled around on the 5th floor, she was able to get out of her room for the first time on Monday. The small things are definitely the big things.