All tips given the month of February will be donated to the Lainey Hemmelgarn family of Versallies. Lainey is the 1-year-old daughter of Caleb and Tana Hemmelgarn. Caleb works at Moriroku Technology and is a volunteer firefighter and Tana currently employed at Crown. Lainey was born just before Christmas in 2023, she was a happy, smiley, and healthy baby. At 7 months old, Tana and Caleb noticed she was not acting herself. They scheduled an appointment with Lainey’s pediatrician and discovered that her head circumference had grown exponentially since her last checkup. Lainey was immediately referred to Dayton Children’s Hospital for a CT and discovered that Lainey had fluid buildup on her brain, and it was being caused by a mass on the backside of her brain. Lainey underwent an emergency surgery to have a drain put in to drain the fluid over the next 36 hours. On August 7, 2024, Lainey underwent an extensive surgery to remove the mass and doctors confirmed that entire mass was removed. Lainey was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma which is a rare, fast growing, cancerous brain tumor that grows near the brainstem and cerebellum and can spread to other areas like the spinal cord.
After surgery, Lainey completed three rounds of chemotherapy. Lainey had long hospital stays due to complications with fevers, nausea, and Lainey not wanting to eat. Caleb and Tana took turns going to work and staying with Lainey throughout her treatment. On December 1, 2024, Lainey began another three rounds of chemotherapy at Nationwide Children’s in Columbus. During this time Lainey was receiving her previously harvested stem cell transplants they were her own stem cells harvested in September. Her immune system was very comprised, so Lainey was not permitted to leave her hospital room during these treatments. Lainey struggled to eat and sleep during the treatments and had intense bone pain due to the stem cells regrowing in her body. In mid-December her port became infected and had to be surgically removed. By the grace of God, Lainey recovered quicker than the doctors expected, and she was released on December 19, the day before her first birthday!
On January 5, 2025, Lainey returned to Nationwide Children’s hospital, as an impatient to start her fifth round of chemotherapy. Due to her lack of appetite, she requires IV nutrition and supplemental sources of calories to give her body strength during these treatments. Lainey’s treatments also include physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Lainey had to relearn to hold her head up on her own after the mass removal, and is working on sitting up by herself. Lainey has also had significant hearing loss caused by the chemotherapy, and now requires hearing aids to help with her speech development.
Lainey has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but the support from her family and friends keeps a smile on her sweet face. Lainey loves snuggling with her mom and dad, listening to music, and playing with her puppies. Let us keep the Hemmelgarn family in our daily prayers. Your generous tip will help cover their ongoing medical bills. Thank you and God Bless!
