Kenny Klinger

“In the first grade, I broke my right arm while playing tag, and scans revealed a tumor on my ulna that made the bone prone breaking and difficult to heal. Over four years, doctors attempted four surgeries before finally fusing my ulna with my rad, allowing me to be free of a cast. In the 6th grade, I started experiencing back pain, which led doctors to discover a significant curvature of my spine that required surgery. By the 9th grade, I began to feel pain in my upper right chest wall. After routine scans following my back surgery, doctors found a large mass in that area. They attempted to remove it but quickly stopped due to the complexity of the tumors and the involvement of surrounding nerves. I was then referred to another hospital to start Methotrexate treatment at CHOP.

During this time, I began experiencing severe depression stemming from an emotionally abusive home life and feelings of insecurity. After graduating high school, my depression worsened, leading me to stop eating and be hospitalized. After participating in multiple research studies, the growth of my tumors began to slow down, and I now require yearly visits to Johns Hopkins for full-body MRI scans. I started struggling with pain management around age 15, and it has been a constant challenge. I currently use a pain pump, which has been mostly successful but requires a lot of maintenance.”

B Kind provided Kenny and his family with grocery assistance to help ease their stress.

“The past 2 years have been very rough. My husband lost his job, so we’ve had to make hard decisions. This allowed us to catch up and breathe and not worry as much about paying for our food for our family.”