Kai is the epitome of love and joy and everything that is good in this world. He would brighten the day of anyone who crossed his path, with his beautiful smile, contagious laugh, or a simple wave. We will never understand why he got cancer. But it happened; at the tender age of six. A month in the hospital trying to figure out and control constant vomiting. A month doing physical therapy for the pain in his neck. Months of tests, labs, medication, discomfort, and uncertainty. A moment of piercing pain and a rush to the ER. A CT scan. A mass in his head. Emergency surgery #1. Emergency surgery #2. A diagnosis – cancer, brain, aggressive. A tumultuous month of recovery. Relearning how to eat, lift his head, stand up, walk, talk. A relocation overseas for further treatment. Thirty-three sessions of radiation to the brain. Nausea. Vomiting. Weight loss. Balance issues…

…and then some calm, some regularity; back in school; making strides with his Autism; relearning how to ride a bike; traveling back home. Three years of semi-normalcy. Only for cancer to rear its ugly head again. And then again the following year. And then again a few months later. Relentless.

On August 26, 2025, after valiantly battling Ependymoma for six years (half of his life), our beautiful Kai took his last breath, cuddled up and surrounded by love. He was 12 years old; just shy of becoming a teenager as he was so looking forward to. Gone too soon. Way too soon.

Still, we are grateful for the time he had on this earth to give and experience joy for six years more than expected after his diagnosis. His Neurosurgeon – Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield – helped make this happen. Kai was able to bounce back well after every brain surgery and was even able to give his most memorable piano performance on stage at Radio City Music Hall less than one month after his last surgery. We will remember that night fondly and are grateful to Dr. Greenfield for helping that dream become a reality.

In Kai’s memory, our family would like to support the important work of the Children’s Brain Tumor Project (CBTP) at Weill Cornell Medicine, an organization co-founded by Dr. Greenfield, under which he leads a research team and lab to explore innovative therapeutic and surgical approaches to pediatric brain tumors.

Kai was not able to be saved from this awful disease. But there were sparks of progress. We believe the science is getting there and we encourage others to help foundations like CBTP fine-tune innovative treatments and quality of life measures and to find a cure, so future kids like Kai can survive and thrive…

Over the years, Kai shared his musical gift at CBTP fundraisers. Please take a moment to listen to his beautiful music in the video posted here. “We are so grateful to have loved and been loved by him. Kai is pure love and joy and he shared that with everyone he met… including through his music,” said Kai’s mother, Kari.

You can make a secure credit card donation using the button below.

If you prefer to mail a check, please print and fill out our printable donation form. We thank you for making a donation in memory of Kai.