Fundraiser to be held after fist-sized tumor removed from teen's brain

CORNELIUS, N.C. — A fundraiser has been set up for a rising senior at Lake Norman Charter High School who is completing treatment for a brain tumor.

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Brady McKay, 17, had bad headaches, and when he went to get checked out in May, he learned there was a fist-sized tumor in his brain.

"There couldn't have been really much that could have been worse than what was on the table," said Jodi McKay, who is his mother and helped set up the fundraiser.

The teen underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor after he was diagnosed with glioblastoma.

"We had people everywhere that were really pushing and praying that tumor shifted," his mother said.

The tumor shifted and doctors entirely removed it.

"Double whammy of miracles that day in the midst of what could have been the worst possible outcome," Jodi McKay said.

Brady McKay continues radiation and chemotherapy treatments and his parents are trying to pay off the mounting medical bills.

"Life doesn't pause. Everything continues," said Linda Arrieta, who started the organization Fight the Good Fight. "Those bills you have on a regular basis continue plus much more."

Arrieta's husband died from a brain tumor in 2014 and then she started Fight the Good Fight.

"I wanted a way to remember his name and legacy and, at the same time, help the community," Arrieta said.

Arrieta organizes an annual race to raise money for families dealing with struggles related to brain tumors and to raise awareness.

"We have this incredible village that's lifted us up and kept us going," Jodi McKay said.

The fundraiser will be at 4 p.m. on Aug. 17 at Eleven Lakes Brewery in Cornelius, where there will be a silent auction.

A percentage of the beer sales that night will go to the McKay family.

Cox Media Group