Brain Tumor No Match for Family’s Bond

FISHING CREEK – Luke Gegan is a thoughtful and articulate 21-year-old who has suffered greatly for a young man still in college.
“I’m only 21, but the past year or two have given me the most difficult and also the most memorable experiences of my life,” he mused.
Although the “difficult” part of his life experience to date can be easily understood by the medical challenges he has faced for the last several years, the “memorable” experiences he references need more explanation.
“I cannot tell you how amazed I have been by the support of my family and friends,” he noted, “but I never expected the help and support I have received from strangers who barely know me” he added.
Maria Gegan is Luke’s mother. Her love and pride in her son were apparent as she described Luke’s commitment to his community as the youngest member of the Lower Township Recreation Advisory Board, and his time working with autistic children. 
Looking back, she related that Luke has been suffering from headaches, nausea and temporary losses of consciousness and panic attacks since about 2008.
As his condition worsened, Luke saw a neurologist who initially diagnosed him as having acute migraine syndrome. After various treatments that were ineffective, he was referred to a psychiatrist.
Exasperated by the years of uncertainty and stress, and this final suggestion that he needed psychiatric help, Luke’s mother took him to Dr. Christopher Skidmore, a neurologist at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, who preliminarily diagnosed Luke with epilepsy.
Skidmore placed Luke on anti-convulsive drugs, and after an MRI, Skidmore discovered that Luke actually had a temporal lobe tumor. 
The two-inch tumor was surgically removed on March 30 of this year after an initial attempt at surgery was aborted because Luke was apparently allergic to the anesthesia. 
Meanwhile, through all the years of stress and uncertainty about Luke’s future, the family came together more and more.
When Luke’s 28-year-old sister Kayla heard her father’s strained voice on the phone as he tried to explain to the bank why he was overdrawn on his checking account and seeing her mom sifting through unpaid bills at the house, Kayla knew that something had to be done.
Even though her brother Luke was covered under his father’s policy, those uncovered medical and related expenses like room and board in Philadelphia during treatment at the hospital were ruining her family financially.
She immediately opened a GoFundMe campaign at www.gofundme.com/lukegegan to try to offset some of those expenses that insurance will not cover.
Luke is certain that without his father’s hard work and missed paychecks, his mom’s loss of employment and dedication to stay with him during his doctor and hospital treatments, his sister’s initiative to ease the financial burden, and his big brother Joey’s numerous chauffeuring missions to Philadelphia, he might never have gotten through this crisis.
Luke is now seizure free and is working his way back from some short term memory loss problems and performing some occupational therapy to address some speech difficulties. 
He plans to renew his education as a Political Science and Business major at Wesley College in the fall.
“God was with me and my surgeons, along with my family and friends in the OR (operating room) that day,” Luke concluded.
The Gegans once again proved that the support of family and friends, both old and new, is the best medicine.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.