My amazing brother Brandon Malcom Gomes at the tender age of 12 has been diagnosed on January 5th, 2020 with an inoperable brainstem glioma, a pediatric malignant brain tumor. Unfortunately, this is his 3rd time in 3 years battling brain cancer, his first experience with cancer was at the age of 9 which also was an inoperable brainstem glioma and treated with 15 months of chemotherapy. He struggled during his chemotherapy with many side effects and was unable to attend school during this time. As a result, he missed a whole year of school. He struggled through home school because he would feel very weak and nauseous after his treatments and at times could not focus. Due to the placement of the tumor,  it affected his balance and motor skills which required physical and occupational therapy.
     Once chemotherapy was completed he was cleared to return to school full time with certain limitations. He struggled to get back to normalcy and during this time he was granted his Make-A-Wish, a dream of his to cook with a master chef in Florence,Italy. This trip was a once in a lifetime experience where he enjoyed traveling to Italy and further secure his wish to become a chef himself. In the meantime he was scheduled for quarterly MRI's and in September of 2019 we were notified of another lesion found on his brain. Fortunately, this tumor was able to be completely removed surgically. In November of 2019, Brandon was able to once again return to school. 
     Brandon is an incredible young man. He has a love for cooking and baking, and from a young age he was influenced by his parents to try foods and cuisines from different parts of the world. In the kitchen, he feverishly tries to mimic the cooking styles of some of his favorite celebrity chefs. His favorite recipes include French Macaroons and Raspberry Panna Cotta. He aspires to one day own his own bakery and restaurant. Brandon understands fully the difficulties he is once again facing, and knows how hard it is to manage his medical condition. However, he strives to stand tall with a positive attitude and the support from his family and friends. 
     Once again we find ourselves with our backs against a wall, on January 5th, 2020 Brandon was once again diagnosed with a brain stem glioma which is inoperable, the only form of treatment is for him to undergo another round of chemotherapy.  His Mother and Father have done everything they possibly can to keep our family afloat emotionally, spiritually and financially up until this point.  My Mom was forced to switch from full to part time status at her job in order to care for Brandon and accompany him to his many chemo treatments.  At this point they are slowly trying to catch up on paying bills that they fell behind on during his last round of treatments. We have endured many battles during  Brandon's journey, we take each day as it comes and give it our best, sometimes we wonder if it is a test from God. We pray and seek his guidance to show us the way, give us hope and peace and let us know that everything will be fine. We hope to reach as many people as we can for prayers and support during this painful time.