This week my thoughts are on the Cash Hyde Foundation. If you have found any value from these Thursday Thoughts please take a minute to visit CashHydeFoundation.com and make a donation. Mike Hyde is a long time coaching client of mine, a LABS Advisor, and agent in Montana. The Sportsmen Against Cancer Banquet is being held this weekend and it’s the largest fundraiser of the year for the foundation.
Cash Michael Hyde “Cashy”
June 21, 2008 – November 14, 2012
From the day Cashy’s tumor was discovered, he marveled the medical profession and defied odds countless times. Cashy is considered the “Boy Of Steel” and a miracle to thousands of people around the world.
Cashy passed away after a two and a half year battle with brain cancer. He endured more pain and suffering than any child should ever have to go through and he always did it with a smile on his face.
Cashy changed the face of pediatric cancer and pioneered a new way of alternative cancer treatment around the world. He taught everybody the meaning of love and that miracles do happen when everyone unites for a common goal.
Cash Michael Hyde was born to Kalli & Mike Hyde on June 21, 2008. His big brother is Colten Hyde and their family lives in Missoula, MT. On May 3rd 2010, when Cashy was 20 months old, radiologist’s at Community Medical Center in Missoula, MT discovered a 4.5 cm stage 4 Brain Tumor in Cashy. He was transported on life flight to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. Cashy was placed on the 2nd floor NTU intensive care unit.
Cashy went into emergency open brain surgery the following day to try and remove the tumor. The surgeon’s only removed 10% of the tumor for biopsy because it had grown around his optic nerves. After the surgery, Cashy lost his eyesight from the pressure of the tumor on his optic nerves.
Oncologist’s diagnosed Cashy with a malignant and aggressive cancer classified as a PNET Brain Tumor. PNET’s are part of the blue cell cancer group that are aggressive and have a high fatality rate. The Oncologist recommended that Cashy receive 3 cycles of chemotherapy, followed by 3 cycles of high dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue. This protocol is aggressive and will take 6 to 8 months to complete.
The Hyde family were told that they needed to do the treatment at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT and that Cashy would have to stay in the hospital for weeks at a time. They returned home to Missoula for 6 days to pack their basic belongings and prepare themselves for the battle of a lifetime.
There are no words to describe watching chemotherapy take effect on someone you love. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells very aggressively, unfortunately, it kills healthy cells the same. If cancer has ever touched your life or the life of someone you know, we don’t have to tell you how devastating it is, because all of us somehow already know.
From the day Cashy’s tumor was discovered, he has marveled the medical profession and defied odds countless times. Cashy is considered a miracle to thousands of people around the world and many doctors and nurses. Along the way, Cashy regained his vision, survived seizures, and many PICU emergencies. There were many ups and downs along the way but each day Cashy would fight with a smile earning him the title “THE BOY OF STEEL”.
Unfortunately, on October 12, 2011, the Hyde family were told that Cashy’s brain tumor was back and that he must begin proton beam radiation at the Loma Linda University in California. With radiation treatment, Cash has a 30% chance of 5 year survival and risk of leukemia cancer, blindness and severe brain damage.
In June 2012, they drove from Missoula, MT to San Francisco, CA so Mike could speak at the High Time Cannabis Cup. They also had a booth for the foundation to spread Cashy’s story and pediatric cancer awareness. It was also Cashy’s fourth birthday and they had a blast going to the beach, the science museum, they drove through the Redwood forest and rode the gondola up the mountain to see some really huge trees!
While they were in San Francisco, they teamed up with United Patients Group and they donated/helped assemble and sticker 10 reggae runners to children’s hospitals in the bay area.
During their trip to San Francisco, Cashy had started throwing up and acting more tired than usual. He continued to complain about a pain in his lower abdomen, sometimes he would scream it would hurt him so bad. They had several tests done to rule out different things, it could have been radiation enteritis, tumors in his abdomen, blockage or constipation. He had CT scans done with barium enema studies, he had ultrasounds, lab tests, and all the tests came back negative. After two more weeks and his condition only keeps on worsening, they did what they feared the most and ordered an early brain MRI even though he had been cancer free at the end of May.
July 27th, 2012, Cashy’s MRI revealed a 2.7cm brain tumor in the same location as the previous two tumors. They were devastated but we’re hopeful that they would be able to save him with a natural treatment plan using cannabis oil, the Gerson therapy and other immune boosting remedies. They had exhausted their options with chemotherapy and radiation as he had went through and received all the heavy hitter chemo drugs and the top notch radiation therapy offered. They made the decision that they wouldn’t put him through any of that ever again. No more brain scans, no more IV’s, no more ports, no more central lines, lab tests or hearing and kidney tests, and most importantly “No More Pokes,” as Cashy had asked. They honored his request even though they knew what the outcome would likely be.
Cashy fought hard for five more months, he never received one more poke, like they had promised. He never set foot in the hospital ever again. Cashy passed away November 14th, 2012 in the arms of his daddy while wearing a pair of his favorite monkey pajamas. He forever changed their family and many lives of others who have followed his amazing journey. Cashy’s legacy will live on for years and years to come. He will never be forgotten.