The Life of Aiden Rhee Koontz

Aiden was born on December 23rd, 1998 in Vista California.

From the start, he made friends easy. Debate club, Theatre, Crissy Field Youth Group Mentor, Conservationist, Game Master, Mixed Martial Artist, Son, Brother, Nephew, Grandson, Friend. We all knew him in different ways, but there were some common threads amongst it all. His love of nature. His fierce protectiveness of those he loved. His generosity. His genuine nature that accepted everyone as they were. He was not much of a braggart, but he had many accomplishments throughout his 25 years on earth.

He was always on the go, excited, optimistic, hopeful. He loved his friends and family more than anything with mother nature a close second. He was a Tree Warden caring for the natural spaces and he was a loyal and good friend to all. Despite his stubborn streak, he was a joy to be around. If you knew Aiden, you felt lucky. I would invite all of his friends and family to tell their stories of Aiden on the Memory Board.

This page will attempt to tell the story of how we lost him. There are undoubtedly questions of “What happened?” That story begins February of 2024 when Aiden moved from Oakland to his Aunt Ginger and Uncle Eric’s home in Sacramento. He was to begin learning the mechanic and auto body trade from his uncle. He was extremely excited and looking forward to the future.

However, he quickly began to complain of headaches and some double vision. By March, he had been admitted to the hospital in Sacramento where he underwent many tests and scans. It was clear there was swelling in the brain and the medical staff thought that it might be cancer, but they were not sure yet. Medication was prescribed to assist with the swelling.

He went home and attempted to move on with his life in true Aiden style. While receiving some relief from spinal taps and the medications, the pain escalated to the point where it was difficult for him to complete a day at work or to do any of the activities he loved. He would often be found curled up in bed instead of climbing the hills or running D&D games where you would usually find him.

He went back to the hospital in June where more tests were run and more spinal taps were completed and more medication was given, but relief was not to be found. He went home for a short while only to have things hit their peak at the end of July.

This is when he was admitted with life threatening brain swelling and transferred down to UCSF. Here, a specialist was able to see something in his scans that no one else had – something slightly cloudy in the lining around his brain. A biopsy was ordered which came back as malignant and most likely a High Grade (fast growing) Glioma. His life was saved from the swelling from a combination of medications and radiation. Unfortunately, another tumor was found in his spinal cord around T9. Both were deemed inoperable.

In mid-August, when radiation treatments were complete, Aiden was released. The first thing he wanted to do was go to a thrift store and eat. We did both. We waited for the results of the test of the tumor that would tell us what kind of cancer it was and determine the treatment. Those results would not come before the end of August when Aiden couldn’t get out of bed. His legs wouldn’t work.

He was taken to the ER in Sacramento, and eventually was sent down to UCSF where an MRI revealed that the tumor in his spinal cord had grown. Radiation was applied to this new area and Aiden was admitted to a rehab where he showed up every day to Physical Therapy and gave it all he had. Despite his efforts, he wouldn’t ever walk again.

When the results of the tumor biopsy did come, it was clear the cancer was extremely rare. One more round of analysis would need to be done to try and identify specific genetic markers that would allow the doctors to select the best possible treatments. Meanwhile, he continued to fight through what must of been severe pain as more tumors began to grow in his spinal cord crushing and damaging the nerves.

Final results of the lab work on the tumor were unable to identify anything further, and with time ticking away, the doctors decided to treat him with a chemo that is known to be very effective against Glioma type brain tumors.

He was given about a year to live without treatment, so we were all hopeful that with treatment, he would be given more time. After his second round of chemo on November 25th, 2024, Aiden was brought to UCSF to get his MRI so that progress could be seen.

In the few days prior to this appointment, he was in a lot of pain, claiming a 9 out of 10. For him, this was significant. He had a very high tolerance to pain. His appetite had begun to decrease and his mental confusion was more evident.

Heartbreakingly, that MRI revealed that not only had the chemo treatments done nothing, the tumor had grown dramatically, coating his spinal cord and the lining of his brain. There were now more solid tumors in his spine as well. He was admitted and we were destroyed and shocked to learn that he likely would not make it to Christmas.

Aiden was not very responsive from that point onward, basically unable to speak coherently. Within two days of being admitted, he had suffered a massive seizure due to the growth of the tumor in the lining of his brain and had to be shifted to palliative sedation. We were then given a revised timeline of 1-2 weeks.

Even while sedated, Aiden never once stopped fighting. They were giving him doses of medication that should of knocked out multiple people, but he was still fighting to be close to the surface so he could hear his many friends that were making the effort to visit.

It was predicted by the doctors that the tumor in his brain would continue to grow until it impacted his respiratory functions. After ten days, On the eve of December 4th, this is what occurred. As he entered into this process, the doctors were loading more sedation medication into him in an attempt to push him into deeper sleep, but it still was not enough. If he could feel pain, he was going to fight.

Finally, barbiturates were administered. They took so long to start working that the doctor was calling other doctors asking if they understood how the medication actually worked since it was not working as intended.

He was an incredible warrior. While most people succumb to respiratory failure within 2-3 hours, Aiden fought for fourteen. On December 5th, 2024 at about 9am PST, the pain was gone and Aiden was still there. He knew he had won, and he could now rest. While the path to this moment was a brutal battle, his passing was extremely peaceful, surrounded by love. While we will forever struggle to accept the shock of losing him, we are all beyond grateful to have known him.

Throughout all of this, Aiden remained optimistic and determined to fight. No matter what went wrong, how tired he was, how much pain he was in – he was always ready for the next round. That spirit kept all of us from despair. No matter what he was going through, he was always concerned about his family and how we were doing.

When something like this happens, we find ourselves desperate to do something. Aiden wanted to change the world. He loathed that people were hungry, sick, homeless, alone. He fought for social justice and equality. He loved the earth and devoted much of his time to being in and caring for natural spaces. If everyone that loved or is inspired by Aiden could pick just one cause. One wrong and make it right, we can help Aiden live on and make the change in the world that he was so passionate about.

It is a hard thing to love someone worth loving. So although it can be difficult with life being life, please remember to make time for those you love because tomorrow is not something you or they are guaranteed.

Live like Aiden. Live out loud. <3