Brad Brown's Cancer Fund
Donation protected
My brother, Brad Brown, has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer with metastasis to the liver. He has spent 29 days and counting in the Chillicothe Adena hospital.
As you can imagine, bills are piling up. Brad does not receive any type of payment when not working so they (fiancée (Amy) and 10 year old daughter (Abby)) are trying to survive on Amy’s income. During Amy’s many trips to the hospital, the motor blew up in their only vehicle. For the reasons stated above and below, we're establishing this Go Fund Me account for Brad, Amy and Abby to cover their household, medical and travel expenses. Any type of donation would be much appreciated.
Brad’s Journey
Brad had a colonoscopy done at the end of February which showed a large mass in his colon. Due to the large mass a CT scan was completed that showed metastasis to both lobes of the liver. Since the mass was so large and causing blockage, an immediate surgery was scheduled to remove the mass along with the ascending (right) colon and a small portion of the transcending (middle) colon.
The surgery was performed robotically and went well. After two days of recovery, Brad was cleared to go home to finish recovery (approximately 3 to 4 weeks), then begin chemotherapy at the beginning of April to treat the cancer on his liver.
Unfortunately, things took a turn in the wrong direction. After being home for 2 days, Brad started experiencing excruciating pain in his stomach. Amy rushed Brad to the Adena emergency room after several hours and further testing — Brad had developed a tear in his colon and the “new” colon seal had come loose. His pain was due to his stomach filling with air as well as bacteria. An emergency surgery was performed within the hour.
This surgery was very invasive — think of it as exploratory. The doctor fixed the tear and the seal, flushed his stomach of bacteria and had to explore to find the air pockets.
Brad’s recovery was much more intense. After a little over a week, he seemed to be strong enough to go home to finish recovery, or so we thought. The nurses were preparing him to go home just waiting for the release paperwork. Thankfully the head nurse was called into a meeting before the paperwork was completed because Brad took a nosedive within that hour. He spiked a fever of 104.5 and was rushed into ICU. His white blood cell count was over 40,000 (anything over 11,000 is considered high). This was a very scary time for Brad and the family. Brad spent the next couple of days in ICU as they were trying to figure out what was going on. After several blood tests, it was revealed that he had an infection in his bloodstream. He received 4 units of blood and several antibiotics. Once stabilized he was moved to a regular room to finish recovery.
Again, Brad was doing well and set to go home. His NG tube was removed (he has not had real food since March 5th) and the next day he was set to be released. He again spiked a fever. The doctors were a little perplexed as to why this was happening - he was moved to the critic care unit. After a failed barium test, an upper GI procedure was completed and showed Brad had a bleeding ulcer and a blood clot which was preventing the barium test from working. They have now isolated the bleed and are addressing the blood clot. Since this finding and treatment, Brad seems to be doing well (he looks better than before surgery #1).
We are hopeful Brad will be released very soon so he can finish recovery at home and prepare for the next step, which is chemotherapy (hoping to start chemo in May if Brad is cleared).
Please pray for good health for Brad as he continues his journey to recovery. Any contribution you would like to give would be greatly appreciated.
I will provide updates on Brad through his recovery and chemotherapy journey.
Love — Frank and Linda (Brad’s parents), Gail and Ryan (sister & brother in-law), Amy and Abby (Fiancée and daughter)
As you can imagine, bills are piling up. Brad does not receive any type of payment when not working so they (fiancée (Amy) and 10 year old daughter (Abby)) are trying to survive on Amy’s income. During Amy’s many trips to the hospital, the motor blew up in their only vehicle. For the reasons stated above and below, we're establishing this Go Fund Me account for Brad, Amy and Abby to cover their household, medical and travel expenses. Any type of donation would be much appreciated.
Brad’s Journey
Brad had a colonoscopy done at the end of February which showed a large mass in his colon. Due to the large mass a CT scan was completed that showed metastasis to both lobes of the liver. Since the mass was so large and causing blockage, an immediate surgery was scheduled to remove the mass along with the ascending (right) colon and a small portion of the transcending (middle) colon.
The surgery was performed robotically and went well. After two days of recovery, Brad was cleared to go home to finish recovery (approximately 3 to 4 weeks), then begin chemotherapy at the beginning of April to treat the cancer on his liver.
Unfortunately, things took a turn in the wrong direction. After being home for 2 days, Brad started experiencing excruciating pain in his stomach. Amy rushed Brad to the Adena emergency room after several hours and further testing — Brad had developed a tear in his colon and the “new” colon seal had come loose. His pain was due to his stomach filling with air as well as bacteria. An emergency surgery was performed within the hour.
This surgery was very invasive — think of it as exploratory. The doctor fixed the tear and the seal, flushed his stomach of bacteria and had to explore to find the air pockets.
Brad’s recovery was much more intense. After a little over a week, he seemed to be strong enough to go home to finish recovery, or so we thought. The nurses were preparing him to go home just waiting for the release paperwork. Thankfully the head nurse was called into a meeting before the paperwork was completed because Brad took a nosedive within that hour. He spiked a fever of 104.5 and was rushed into ICU. His white blood cell count was over 40,000 (anything over 11,000 is considered high). This was a very scary time for Brad and the family. Brad spent the next couple of days in ICU as they were trying to figure out what was going on. After several blood tests, it was revealed that he had an infection in his bloodstream. He received 4 units of blood and several antibiotics. Once stabilized he was moved to a regular room to finish recovery.
Again, Brad was doing well and set to go home. His NG tube was removed (he has not had real food since March 5th) and the next day he was set to be released. He again spiked a fever. The doctors were a little perplexed as to why this was happening - he was moved to the critic care unit. After a failed barium test, an upper GI procedure was completed and showed Brad had a bleeding ulcer and a blood clot which was preventing the barium test from working. They have now isolated the bleed and are addressing the blood clot. Since this finding and treatment, Brad seems to be doing well (he looks better than before surgery #1).
We are hopeful Brad will be released very soon so he can finish recovery at home and prepare for the next step, which is chemotherapy (hoping to start chemo in May if Brad is cleared).
Please pray for good health for Brad as he continues his journey to recovery. Any contribution you would like to give would be greatly appreciated.
I will provide updates on Brad through his recovery and chemotherapy journey.
Love — Frank and Linda (Brad’s parents), Gail and Ryan (sister & brother in-law), Amy and Abby (Fiancée and daughter)
Organizer
Gail Brown-Vornholt
Organizer
Columbus, OH
