A GoFundMe site has now been set up to help with medical and travel expenses for the family of a Roane County High School student battling a brain tumor.

15-year-old Caiyden Grigsby is a freshman at Roane County High School in Kingston. She is a member of the Roane County High School band and wind ensemble as well as a member of the volleyball team.

Caiyden is the daughter of Roane County Sheriff’s Departments Sgt. Mitch Grigsby and his wife, Christy.

After she collapsed on a softball field in August 2018, Caiyden was rushed to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital where doctors first discovered the brain tumor. Doctors then wanted to treat it with medication and rescan every 3 to 4 months with new MRI for possible deterioration and evaluate for possible surgery. However, Caiyden would continue to get worse. She had more headaches and seizures. Her parents got a second opinion. In September of this year, her parents received a call from a neuro-oncologist at Cincinnati Children’s Brain Tumor Center confirming a ganglioglioma brain tumor.

It is a type of brain tumor that contains properties of both glial cells (responsible for providing the structural support of the central nervous system) and neuronal cells (the functioning component of the central nervous system). It is very rare in humans.

Caiyden and her parents will be making several trips to Cincinnati Children’s Brain Tumor Center for treatment beginning with the first trip in the upcoming couple of weeks. The first visits will start treatment of her seizures which will be at least a week-long visit then several trips back to map the tumor and decide when the resection will take place along with any other needed therapies.

If you would like to make donations to Caiyden and the Grigsby family, donations can be sent to:

Simply Bank

Caiyden Grigsby

1031 S. Roane St.

Harriman, TN 37748

Checks can be made out to Caiyden Grigsby.

or you can make a donation to the following GoFundMe page:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/1rvpwhbgxc?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR3-8G0p8AxWVr5gMlu5fM0m4ev-aszpc0387e3DOu0Euu2d8WPCTG_RKKQ