April 23, 2018
THEY'RE HOME! Brandon and Anita have moved to her house where he can continue his recovery. They are both so glad to be back! He has a long way to go still, but is progressing really well. There are some uncertainties for him for the future, but doctors are very hopeful.
Brandon wants to thank you so much for your help and support. The last two years have been a struggle for his whole family - emotionally, physically, and financially. It will be months before he can work again, so your financial support and continued prayers are a great blessing.
March 27, 2018
Brandon continues to exceed expectations! Next milestone is a bone marrow test on April 2nd which will give the doctors a solid indication of his status. Probably won't get results till around the 6th, but we'll all be waiting for that. It will provide basis for date that he can move back home.
Please keep those prayers and good wishes coming! Thanks for all your support.
Aunt Candy
March 5, 2018
Brandon continues to do great. The clinic staff call him a "rock star". He's walking the stairs in his building to get exercise and his appetite is good. The main concern is avoiding infection so they still have to live a very isolated life style. It's getting boring and they're looking forward to day 120 so they can move back home.
They thank you all for your strong support and continuing prayers.
Aunt Candy
February 18, 2018
Great News! The bone marrow test was totally negative! Which is a totally positive thing! All his blood counts are very good too. He is still battling the HVGD but is making progress there too. He's in great shape for 40 days out from the transplant! Still looking at end of April or early May for getting to go home.
February 16, 2018
Still waiting on final results of bone marrow test. Hopefully early next week. Brandon's doing ok. Not sleeping very well which is always hard. Doctors are pleased with his progress and response to GVHD treatment.
February 9, 2018
Brandon's having a bone marrow test today. That will tell them a lot. He'll be closely monitored at the clinic for 100 - 120 days from date of transplant. If no complications, he will get to go home after that. However, the reality is that 90% of patients have some sort of infection that puts them back in the hospital.
He's made great progress, but the fight is far from over. Thanks to all of you for your strong support. Keep those prayers coming.
Aunt Candy
February 6, 2018
Whohoo!!! Brandon is getting out of the hospital today! Understandably he's been getting pretty stir crazy since he's been there for over a month. Still lots of challenges as he regains his strength and his body continues to build healthy marrow. He and his Mom have an apartment near the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Clinic in South Lake Union area of Seattle. He has to be within 20 minutes of the clinic until he's given the ok. Could still be a couple of months till they can move back home. Long haul for both of them and Shawn and the boys.
Aunt Candy
February 2, 2018
Unfortunately Brandon has the Graft versus Host Disease. About 4 out of 5 bone marrow transplant patients will get it. He has a constant fever now and other symptoms. They're treating him with prednisone. He's very tired but has set his sights on being able to leave the hospital next week.
Really need all your prayers and good thoughts as he battles through this latest problem.
January 31, 2018
Brandon's having trouble with a stubborn fever that comes back every night. He can't be released until he goes 48 hours without a fever so he's very frustrated. Probably seems to him like he's been in the hospital forever. This is the time when infections are really dangerous so he can't take any chances with leaving too soon.
January 27, 2018
Big news! Brandon's cells came in! He has 110 neutrophils (don't know what they are but they're good). He should be able to fight the infection now and start getting some strength back. Still a long way to go, but this is a great milestone.
Go Brandon!
Aunt Candy
January 26, 2018
There are very good signs for Brandon today. Neutrophils don't show on the test yet, but he does have white blood cells. Doctor says the neutrophils are probably fighting the mucositis infection and should show up in a day or two on the test.
If he can get his neutrophil count to an absolute 500, have no fever for 3 days, and be able to eat and drink on his own, he could get to move to their apartment near the clinic in 7 to 10 days! You can imagine how excited he would be to get out of the hospital.
Thanks for all your prayers and good thoughts. Keep them coming! He's not at the top of the mountain yet.
Aunt Candy
January 23, 2018
Your prayers and good thoughts would really be appreciated now as Brandon is having a tough time. He has mucositis and can barely swallow water. He needs to be on IV nutrition and pain meds. This is definitely an uphill battle.
Thanks for your words of support.
Aunt Candy
January 21, 2018
We're taking bets on when Brandon's new cells will start coming in. He and Shawn have both picked the 26th. See the calendar in the photo albums. I picked the 26th too without knowing that they had.
It's a big milestone so let us know your guesses?
Aunt Candy
January 18, 2018
Brandon is now at day 8. Shawn says his neutrophils have dropped, as was expected. He has mouth sores, but overall he's doing well. He's faithfully walking laps every day to keep up his strength and has walked 26 miles so far! Pretty amazing since it's a very small area he has to do laps in.
January 13, 2018
Brandon is doing very well, but he will be having 2 days of chemo on 13th and 14th. He'll likely feel effects for a few days. Plus he has extreme fatigue. The chemo is to help reduce the risk of Graft versus Host Disease which can have serious consequences. So far things are progressing very well.
January 11, 2018
Today (the 10th) is zero day. They waited all day for the donor marrow to arrive. Finally it was time and he got the infusion. See pictures posted of staff singing Happy Birthday to him as he starts the process.
Thank you to all who have shown support in prayers and good thoughts.
January 8, 2018
Shawn took 2 pictures of a Timeline on the wall in the hallway of the Transplant Center. Kind of hard to read but she has one that's a full chart and then a close up. Today is January 8th which is day -2. The 10th will be 0 day and is called his Birthday. It shows very clearly that he's got a big mountain to climb.
Thanks to everyone for their support. It's been very heartwarming.
December 29, 2017
Brandon's schedule has changed slightly. He will go into the hospital on January 4th and start chemo on the 5th for 4 days. He'll get one day of rest and on January 10th, he will get the bone marrow transplant.
The doctors are sounding very positive because they were fortunate to find a very good donor match. Also aside from being rundown after chemo, Brandon is in very good health. His body is strong and we all have faith that he's going to fight his way through this huge challenge.
Aunt Candy
December 19, 2017
On January 3, 2018, Brandon will go into University of Washington hospital for 30 days of treatment. His medical team tells him this will be the hardest thing he's ever done in his life. Please send him your prayers to give him strength.
