Hello Family and Friends,
I wanted to share the story of my son Wayne Herzog. Last year in 2024 my son was suffering from intense headaches and not feeling quite normal. He trudged on and just chalked it up to weight gain and high blood pressure. However, one day he was shuffling in the store and his eyes wouldn’t focus. After a long conversation with our family nurse, we went to the ER at the VA (yes..He is a Vet!). And much to our surprise what they found was an enormous fluid filled cyst with a tumor in his brain. He was swiftly transported to a hospital where he was seen by a top surgical Neourologist. The first 24 hours were very critical as they placed tubes in his head to remove the fluid that was putting an enormous amount of pressure on his brain. The days and weeks to follow brought him through another invasive brain surgery that drained the cyst and an attempt to remove the tumor. Due to the location of the tumor they were unable to remove it all for fear it would cause him blindness. He recovered over several months and was scheduled for radiation therapy in the months to come. By late December of 2024 he had completed as much of the radiation therapy as he could, but had to stop it because the fluid filled cyst had returned and was continuing to grow. They decided to wait and watch this growth. In the meantime Wayne worked harder than ever to rehabilitate himself. We had attempted to apply for Social Security Disability ( July 2024), but the government process has denied him. May of 2025 the tumor has reached a state that has put him in danger of losing his life again. He will need yet another surgery to remove the cyst and possible chemo therapy or radiation to follow. We have been told He is still over 200 days out from any kind of approval for Social Security Disability and he is not able to sustain basic living necessities. I never dreamed I would be writing this letter to the many in an attempt to find some financial support for Wayne. He is such a kind hearted, hard working young man and a Veteran who took great pride in serving his country (For YOU and Me). If you could find it in your heart to support him in any small way I know He would be eternally grateful and blessed to have support from family and friends. Through this whole thing we have been blessed with prayers…. My prayers are that God will continue to guide Wayne through this time and provide for him as his needs arise.
Thank you for hearing His story!
May God Bless you each and every day!
Lynda Simmons (Wayne’s mom)
