Bryans fight against Brain Cancer IV Glioblastoma
Donation protected
Bryan has brain cancer. My husband, best friend, my person, father to my baby, step dad to my big kids, has brain cancer! I feel like we are living a bad dream we still have yet to wake up from. I look at it two ways, we can let the anger and negativity consume us & our lives, which does no good! OR we can focus on ALL the positive things in Bryan’s life, & cherish his wins along the way through this crazy ride! Yes he has a grade IV glioblastoma, which is the nastiest of all brain tumors but you know what?! Bry is a strong m effer and is kicking this cancer’s ass.
Bryan is many things.... a dad, husband, son, a brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, brother in law, uncle, and a damn good friend to many! A bit of laughter to add to your day, a jokester, a little shy, a lover, fighter, hard worker, a helping hand, a slow cautious grandpa driver, hat addict, Cubs fan, coin collector, trio dachshund wiener dad, Blackhawks obsessed, an Eagles Fan, fantasy football all-star, Bush Light drinker, balls out, always down for a laugh & good time kinda guy! Hot as hell, but we all knew that already! Oh yeah and a dancer, which I’m sure a lot of you saw at our wedding! Most of all- Bry is strong! Seeing him go through everything he has gone through since Aug 14, the day our world as we knew it flipped upside down, I am 100% certain that he is the most amazing and courageous man I know. The strength he has shown is phenomenal.
I know I can bore you with all of the lengthy details, medical terms, and many follow ups he has been through with lots of different doctors....BUT the short story is this....
Bry started his morning off going to one of his last few classes for his promotional training with Nicor. Soon after getting to class he was rushed to Edward hospital by ambulance due to a severe seizure! After being admitted, they had found that Bryan had dislocated both arms and had a large mass in the brain. Bry had a double shoulder reduction while still at Edward. Since then he has followed up with his new team of doctors at Loyola and his arms are healing great! They thought at first possibly surgery, but now maybe not! Slings are off, he feels less like being confined in a straight jacket and definitely a lot more independent again since surgery.
His brain surgery was also performed at Loyola Hospital. Dr. Reynolds drained the fluid filled sack, removed the tumor, and the biopsy that was sent out has come back cancerous. To be specific it is a grade IV glioblastoma. The nastiest of all brain tumors, fast growing and with what they explained to us as tentacle like arms. It is a type though, that has shown to react well to chemo! Score! +
However, sadly there is no cure for this, just a fight to keep it away as long as possible so Bry can keep living, loving, & laughing! He has a great team of doctors at Loyola Hospital who we are working together for the best treatment plan!
His first phase of treatment will be radiation therapy Monday through Friday for a continuous 7 weeks, coupled with chemo everyday 7 days a week, with more phases following for the next year. We will then go from there on the next plan of attack as we see what happens for the next year. Treatment will begin as soon as his incision has completely healed because the radiation can cause his incision to split right back open. Treatment will be a long road, I won’t sugar coat it. A long continuous road and fight to keep it away for as long as possible.
Wow that was NOT a short story!
So we wait! We stay positive! We pray! As we have so far! We focus on how well he is doing! He had a pretty good size tumor removed, pretty severe seizure, and if you have seen him you wouldn’t even know it. He is a rock star, seriously. Besides seeing his bad ass incision that is healing, I don’t think a stranger would even know he had a tumor removed and has brain cancer. He is himself again! We focus on fighting this cancers ass! We focus on doing everything now in our power to make Bry smile on the good days and even more so on the not so good days. Making more memories and many laughs!
A huge thank you & honestly we can’t even begin to thank everyone nearly enough as we would like! Thank you. Truly. So many have helped us out along the way and we wouldn’t have survived even this far without the help and support from you all!
We have been trying to get back in a groove of a new normal for us. Our new saying is making sure we are “living our best life!” Most importantly making sure Bry is stress free & living his BEST DAMN LIFE. Fantasy football included. Amen.
Bryan is many things.... a dad, husband, son, a brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, brother in law, uncle, and a damn good friend to many! A bit of laughter to add to your day, a jokester, a little shy, a lover, fighter, hard worker, a helping hand, a slow cautious grandpa driver, hat addict, Cubs fan, coin collector, trio dachshund wiener dad, Blackhawks obsessed, an Eagles Fan, fantasy football all-star, Bush Light drinker, balls out, always down for a laugh & good time kinda guy! Hot as hell, but we all knew that already! Oh yeah and a dancer, which I’m sure a lot of you saw at our wedding! Most of all- Bry is strong! Seeing him go through everything he has gone through since Aug 14, the day our world as we knew it flipped upside down, I am 100% certain that he is the most amazing and courageous man I know. The strength he has shown is phenomenal.
I know I can bore you with all of the lengthy details, medical terms, and many follow ups he has been through with lots of different doctors....BUT the short story is this....
Bry started his morning off going to one of his last few classes for his promotional training with Nicor. Soon after getting to class he was rushed to Edward hospital by ambulance due to a severe seizure! After being admitted, they had found that Bryan had dislocated both arms and had a large mass in the brain. Bry had a double shoulder reduction while still at Edward. Since then he has followed up with his new team of doctors at Loyola and his arms are healing great! They thought at first possibly surgery, but now maybe not! Slings are off, he feels less like being confined in a straight jacket and definitely a lot more independent again since surgery.
His brain surgery was also performed at Loyola Hospital. Dr. Reynolds drained the fluid filled sack, removed the tumor, and the biopsy that was sent out has come back cancerous. To be specific it is a grade IV glioblastoma. The nastiest of all brain tumors, fast growing and with what they explained to us as tentacle like arms. It is a type though, that has shown to react well to chemo! Score! +
However, sadly there is no cure for this, just a fight to keep it away as long as possible so Bry can keep living, loving, & laughing! He has a great team of doctors at Loyola Hospital who we are working together for the best treatment plan!
His first phase of treatment will be radiation therapy Monday through Friday for a continuous 7 weeks, coupled with chemo everyday 7 days a week, with more phases following for the next year. We will then go from there on the next plan of attack as we see what happens for the next year. Treatment will begin as soon as his incision has completely healed because the radiation can cause his incision to split right back open. Treatment will be a long road, I won’t sugar coat it. A long continuous road and fight to keep it away for as long as possible.
Wow that was NOT a short story!
So we wait! We stay positive! We pray! As we have so far! We focus on how well he is doing! He had a pretty good size tumor removed, pretty severe seizure, and if you have seen him you wouldn’t even know it. He is a rock star, seriously. Besides seeing his bad ass incision that is healing, I don’t think a stranger would even know he had a tumor removed and has brain cancer. He is himself again! We focus on fighting this cancers ass! We focus on doing everything now in our power to make Bry smile on the good days and even more so on the not so good days. Making more memories and many laughs!
A huge thank you & honestly we can’t even begin to thank everyone nearly enough as we would like! Thank you. Truly. So many have helped us out along the way and we wouldn’t have survived even this far without the help and support from you all!
We have been trying to get back in a groove of a new normal for us. Our new saying is making sure we are “living our best life!” Most importantly making sure Bry is stress free & living his BEST DAMN LIFE. Fantasy football included. Amen.
Organizer
Em Kokalj
Organizer
Channahon, IL