Kirasupdates

Kirasupdates This page is dedicated to Kira’s Journey and fight with inoperable & cancerous brain tumor. OK, a lot of people are asking when/how this all happened. Thank you!

This page is for friends, family and supporters of Kira and her fight with brain cancer. This started Friday 11-3-17. We learned of the diagnosis 11-9-17…

Many people following this that are friends of Robert’s (dad), Wendy’s (mom) or Kira’s (Baby girl). Just wanted to give an idea how this played out. If You want, you can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/helpkirafight or directly to my paypal account (no fees) @ wendyastanley@gmail.com. Her Timeline:

Late September - Kira complained about double vision. We took her to an optometrist and they prescribed her new contacts. We know it sometimes takes a while to adjust so we gave it a little time but the double vision did not improve. Friday, Nov 3 – Kira complained of a bad headache which continued through the weekend. We made attempts to manage it with OTC meds, rest, dehydration, etc

Monday, Nov 6 – Wendy took Kira to urgent care because Kira still had the headache and was feeling dizzy. The urgent care doctor suggested that we call our primary care physician and make an appointment to either do an MRI (he was concerned more about the double vision) or have the doctor do a migraine “workup”. He told us to take Excedrin Migraine – which actually seemed to relieve her pain that night. Tuesday, Nov 7 – Kira woke up feeling dizzy again and the headache had returned. Wendy took her to the ER. The ER doctor did bloodwork to check for infection, cell counts, etc. All good. He recommended we keep our appointment for the general practice doctor (which I had scheduled for 2:30 that day). He suggested that the general doctor order an MRI. Same day, Tuesday, Nov 7 – General doctor visit. The doctor said he was concerned about the double vision and ordered an MRI stat. The imaging place could not make an appointment for us until Friday (ironically today – the day I’m writing this timeline). We went home and tried to manage the headache and rest. Wednesday, Nov 8 – Kira woke up nauseous and with a headache. She experienced slurred speech and dizziness and spinning. Wendy called the general doctor’s office and they told her to go directly to the ER (again). Same day, Wednesday, Nov 8 – Went to the ER in Encinitas. The ER doctor did a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to test for meningitis. Those results came back negative. The ER doctor ordered an MRI which they did. After a long while of waiting, the doctor relayed the findings of the MRI to Wendy. Large mass in the base of the brain that appeared to be malignant. (side note: Robert had been in AZ for a work conference during all of this. He was not due back in San Diego until Saturday. He sped back home in Kira’s car (she coincidentally just bought that was in AZ)

Wednesday to the ER and arrived just after receiving this news about the tumor. He may have driven so fast that he broke the car :-/)

Same night, Wednesday, Nov 8 – transferred by ambulance to Rady Children’s Hospital ICU. They did another, more comprehensive MRI around 10pm. The doctors were gone for the night. Thursday, Nov 9 – Team of doctors, social workers, nurses and life specialists informed us that it was indeed a cancerous tumor. We have since been sorting through a flood of information about cancer, brain tumors, clinical trials, biopsies, pain management, quality of life, etc. Thank you to everyone for all your support and referrals and research and snacks and prayers and hums and positive vibes. Your positive energy is felt and appreciated.

09/25/2025

69th 25th… I won’t be going to the beach today because of an early flight…. But I am going to do fun things with some of Kira’s favorite people… and mine, too… ❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️



Well you know if it took me two days to post about it, it must have been pretty spectacular! Spending Kira’s 24th birthd...
09/10/2025

Well you know if it took me two days to post about it, it must have been pretty spectacular! Spending Kira’s 24th birthday with all my ‘babies’ was exactly called for - I think for all of us. In fact, a couple of them may or may not still be crashed out on my couch. It was the best - really. Zane, Chris, Evan and Sonya all came over for what started out as a mellow birthday celebration with unraveling a huge bag of random cords, adapters and wires just to try to get the block rocker to pick up someone’s - anyone’s Bluetooth. We then went to the beach for the sunset and hung out and listened to the waves and some music and watched the sun go down. I forgot to bring the LED frisbees - but we got to those eventually. Back at my place, the cake decorating commenced… all very unique with deep concentration and a story behind them (which I hoped/knew would likely be the result) and then… all crazy broke loose… an EPIC cake in the face food fight - no face was spared! There was sugary icing and cake everywhere - on the floor, on the table, on the rug, in our ears, up our noses…. I haven’t laughed so hard since I don’t know when. That was followed by a soak (rinse, sorry HOA) in the hot tub. We had the best time… I love my kiddos so so so much. Kira would have absolutely loved this. And she was with us the whole time… we all felt her ❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️🤟

I could think of only one thing that would have made this a more perfect day…




So much love…

Even before September… I heard you… before the 25th of last month… I saw an uptick… as large as my ‘childhood cancer wor...
09/07/2025

Even before September… I heard you… before the 25th of last month… I saw an uptick… as large as my ‘childhood cancer world’ has become, there is a group here that wrenches my heart especially so. My Monterrey family… I see you… maybe you guys feel it, too… but I swear there’s been a recent vibe and movement. Some of you I haven’t seen post in a while… but it feels like there’s an uprising. Do you guys feel it?

September is… well, if you know, you know… childhood cancer… wtf. For our family, it’s also Kira’s birthday - 9/8/01… I still almost write that date or say it when asked ‘date of birth?’ - I have written it on more forms or said it to more pharmacists than I have my own.

But… that’s not my point. It’s the Monterrey, Mexico family group that I’ve been feeling lately. For you who don’t know, there was a group of parents who started before our journey with Kira but who became our co-warriors in the fight for all of our children’s lives. We all connected and became indescribably part of each others lives. Some more than others. And some still. We all were brought together in the incredible fight of our lives - the fight for our child’s life. And all - ALL - of our children have passed. All of them.

When my family joined this group, it was the beginning for some, the middle for some and the end for some… and all - desperate. We had a WhatsApp group thread of all these parents of kids who were desperately trying to connect dots. It was my lifeline for the most critical time in my life. We shared knowledge of treatments, tips on places to stay while in Mexico… we shared a driver who stole all our hearts… we shared medications and supplements and guidance and answered questions and welcomed new members. There was love and there was stress… We had disputes and agitation and care and concern and incredible support and acknowledgment that I will never ever forget. We not only fought for our kids, but we fought for the doctors and the right to continue treatment in the Monterrey hospital. We raised money and awareness. I felt like we shook the world with our stories.

Clearly not everyone on the DIPG journey went our way… and clearly, we have not found the light at the end of this tunnel.

But I have been seeing you guys… and I have been wanting to say so… my heart is still with all of you. I cannot believe - but am so grateful for - you in my life.

Here is a video compilation of 52 hours in Monterrey that Kira put togeher. You may have seen it before… and if you havent, this is what we experienced every two weeks for two years…

Thank you to my Monterrey family. I love you and you and your baby will always hold a special place in my heart.

https://youtu.be/iPqfIKIgSMM?si=wR924YRmS5KgEpGU





❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️ trere

Here is my trip to Mexico for my 11th treatment in the fight to beat D.I.P.G brain cancer. If you don't know what D.I.P.G brain cancer is.. well I don't exac...

08/26/2025

68th 25th…. ❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️

67th 25th… Kira loved music… if she wasn’t listening to it, she was representing it or talking about it and learning li...
07/26/2025

67th 25th… Kira loved music… if she wasn’t listening to it, she was representing it or talking about it and learning life stories of the artists…

and it’s been a big week for music lovers… so this feels appropriate…

Kira and I were talking one day about what we could do to always feel close - even if we were apart… and we came up with the idea to make a joint playlist… we both added songs to it over time and it’s one of my favorite things in life… i have shared it before… and I’ll share it again now…

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/67O8FsBWgXm2eTLsg0cjj1?si=J0peouFURziYVgiJueTZlQ&pi=g2ug51hqTuqnVydis

🤘❤️🤟❤️🤘❤️🤟❤️🤘





R.I.P. Ozzy 🤘🤘🤘🤘

Finally caught up with my baby girl last night for an experimental chicken Florentine recipe… Zane is so smart, so impre...
07/12/2025

Finally caught up with my baby girl last night for an experimental chicken Florentine recipe… Zane is so smart, so impressive… she has officially launched her own company which offers graphic design and branding. You’ve seen her journey over the years - she’s putting it into action. Her website, which she developed, is https://www.dumostudio.com - she is open for business! As any new entrepreneur, she is eager to get things started - she has experience with big and small companies and she wants to take that experience and education and implement it in her own unique approach of helping others. Please check her out and feel free to share with friends. Dumo is open!! ❤️❤️❤️

66th 25th…. Just saying on month 6 Kira has been visiting me and many others in the last week. No joke. She’s all ove...
06/26/2025

66th 25th…. Just saying on month 6 Kira has been visiting me and many others in the last week. No joke. She’s all over and I love it. I was feeling heavy about it and then I started getting message after message from people I have not heard from in months and some years… thank you always for reaching out and telling me she crossed your mind. I love it more than I can say… something’s happening. I don’t know what. But I feel it coming…

65th 25th… ❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️
05/26/2025

65th 25th… ❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️




Didn’t get to see any of my kiddos for various reasons yesterday. But in anticipation of them coming over, I cleaned up ...
05/12/2025

Didn’t get to see any of my kiddos for various reasons yesterday. But in anticipation of them coming over, I cleaned up my house… so kinda like my own gift to myself 🙂 gonna try to catch up with Zane and Chris and possibly Evan today or this week. This has been an interesting Mother’s Day. Heard from some people I haven’t heard from in a long time. It was nice… I just relaxed which was beneficial after and very long week with all our employees in town… for those of you who know my introvert status. It was a lot of ‘peopling’ last week All is well… love to all you special moms out there… and thank you for all the ones who reached out to me specifically…

Much much love ❤️🤟❤️🤟❤️




Christy Bennett
05/05/2025

Christy Bennett

Love abounds….
05/05/2025

Love abounds….

From all that
05/05/2025

From all that

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Encinitas, CA

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