Funds for Brandon and Mandy
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My little brother, Brandon, and his beautiful wife, Mandy, are both experiencing life-altering medical illnesses requiring hospitalizations, advanced medical testing, travel expenses for medical treatment throughout the metroplex, and an increasing amounts of time off from work to receive treatment (chemo, scans, blood work, doctors’ visits, injections). So many friends and family have asked how they might help my brother and his family to make it through this discouraging season. First and foremost, please pray for them if you will. We serve a mighty God who sustains us in every way, including giving us wonderful friends like you. In an effort to give you an opportunity to minister to them, I’ve set up a tangible, financial way to allow you all to encourage their hearts with your faithfulness and generosity.
Medical history: Over the course of an entire year of medical testing and emergency room visits, July 2016-July 2017 became the year of a lack of physical answers for Brandon as he attempted to find out what ailed him. After 30+ lbs of weight loss, being unable to eat solid meals, and a barrage of testing including a colonoscopy, a doctor finally found a large mass in his colon/rectum in July 2017 that had nearly entirely obstructed his GI tract. During this time, Mandy also began suffering from an increasing amount of general muscle pain and started to seek a medical diagnosis of her own without much success as well. Fall 2017-Winter 2018 found Brandon in chemotherapy treatments and frequent MRI scans as well as surgical visits to treat the metastatic lesions in his liver and remove the tumor in his colon. In March 2018, he was lesion-free by all intents and purposes and released to be off chemotherapy. Mandy, however, began treatment for a rare and debilitating autoimmune disease called dermatomyositis. With a medical team of specialists at UT-Southwestern in Dallas, over the course of the next several months and into summer 2018, she sought treatment for her disease and symptoms with some improvement.
Last two weeks: However, over these last two weeks, Mandy began to have tremendous pain in her right arm/chest and after nearly 2 weeks of no outpatient visit or doctor being able to help her, she sought hospitalization for what was finally diagnosed as a large internal abscess, which was surgically evacuated last week. Brandon, at this same time, followed up with his liver surgeon and was told his cancer had reoccurred with 5 new metastatic lesions in his liver. Over the course of the next week, he began having significant back pain and sought emergent care twice before being diagnosed as having a severe narrowing of his urinary tract in two places between his kidney and bladder, cause unknown. He was treated with ballooning and stent, which improved things temporarily. An incidental finding during his kidney evaluation also revealed an additional “spot” or lesion in his lung and upon further investigation, Brandon now also has three new metastatic lesions in his lungs.
Their needs currently are great financially. If you consider giving, know that our family is more than grateful for your generosity, faithful prayerfulness, and friendship. You are a blessing to my brother, Mandy, and their children, Ava (10) and Malachi (8) as well as their parents and extended family as we traverse the difficult path with them, God going before us.
Medical history: Over the course of an entire year of medical testing and emergency room visits, July 2016-July 2017 became the year of a lack of physical answers for Brandon as he attempted to find out what ailed him. After 30+ lbs of weight loss, being unable to eat solid meals, and a barrage of testing including a colonoscopy, a doctor finally found a large mass in his colon/rectum in July 2017 that had nearly entirely obstructed his GI tract. During this time, Mandy also began suffering from an increasing amount of general muscle pain and started to seek a medical diagnosis of her own without much success as well. Fall 2017-Winter 2018 found Brandon in chemotherapy treatments and frequent MRI scans as well as surgical visits to treat the metastatic lesions in his liver and remove the tumor in his colon. In March 2018, he was lesion-free by all intents and purposes and released to be off chemotherapy. Mandy, however, began treatment for a rare and debilitating autoimmune disease called dermatomyositis. With a medical team of specialists at UT-Southwestern in Dallas, over the course of the next several months and into summer 2018, she sought treatment for her disease and symptoms with some improvement.
Last two weeks: However, over these last two weeks, Mandy began to have tremendous pain in her right arm/chest and after nearly 2 weeks of no outpatient visit or doctor being able to help her, she sought hospitalization for what was finally diagnosed as a large internal abscess, which was surgically evacuated last week. Brandon, at this same time, followed up with his liver surgeon and was told his cancer had reoccurred with 5 new metastatic lesions in his liver. Over the course of the next week, he began having significant back pain and sought emergent care twice before being diagnosed as having a severe narrowing of his urinary tract in two places between his kidney and bladder, cause unknown. He was treated with ballooning and stent, which improved things temporarily. An incidental finding during his kidney evaluation also revealed an additional “spot” or lesion in his lung and upon further investigation, Brandon now also has three new metastatic lesions in his lungs.
Their needs currently are great financially. If you consider giving, know that our family is more than grateful for your generosity, faithful prayerfulness, and friendship. You are a blessing to my brother, Mandy, and their children, Ava (10) and Malachi (8) as well as their parents and extended family as we traverse the difficult path with them, God going before us.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kristen Renfrow Piwetz
Organizer
Haslet, TX
Brandon or Mandy Renfrow
Beneficiary