Help Brent Battle Brain Cancer

I am writing this on behalf of my friends, Brent and Eden Wallace. Brent has brain cancer. It’s an astrocytoma. The Christmas before last he suffered his first seizure which led to hours in the ER, a head CT, MRI, then a transfer to tertiary care for follow up with a neurosurgeon after finding a large tumor situated deep in the center/right of his brain very near to his brainstem. He underwent his first surgery a couple weeks later in effort to remove as much of the tumor as they could knowing there were inherent risks involved in a surgery for this particular area of the brain. The surgery went as well as it could have but was followed by some complications afterwards including the loss of most of his vision and several more weeks in the ICU after his wound dehisced and became infected. Follow up radiation and chemo was determined to be futile at that point as the tentacles of the tumor were deep and Brent had opted for more holistic treatment at the time. 

There have been many follow up MRIs since last year and the most recent a week or so ago had showed the progression of his grade 2 astrocytoma to a grade 3 with a change of care to require immediate radiation and chemo as it is now nearly millimeters from his brainstem and the growth has sped swiftly. If treatment isn’t started immediately his quality of life is certain to take a drastic turn to complete paralyzation of his left side and complete loss of vision.

I had high hopes of coordinating a fundraiser this last year but all plans were halted due to COVID-19. I had started replanning for this year when things began to re-open however time is now of the essence due to recent changes revealed in his latest MRI. I had originally been hoping to fund them some lasting memories via family vacations or to help pay down medical bills as brain surgery and helicopter medevacs are not cheap! At this point, treatment is going to involve commuting to the D.C. area 5 days out of the week (they live a few hours from D.C….). The months just prior to the seizure they had purchased a new home in Western Maryland. A year or so prior they had been transplants from South Carolina. They had moved back to Brent’s neck of the woods to be closer to his family for the sake of their 2 young children after he finished up his career in the Air Force.

At 35 years Brent has accomplished much not only in his military career but also finding the love of a kind hearted woman and fathering 2 amazing young boys. 

2019 closed out with the diagnosis of a tumor. 2020 began with a life changing surgery and prognosis of 2-5 years with treatment. 2021 is starting with a grave change in that timeline and the start of some very steep emotional and physical roller coasters. The goal of this fund is to help alleviate the cost of treatment and provide some relief for the regular bills so that Eden can be there to spend time with her husband rather than work the rest of his life away to pay for the treatment. All contributions would be greatly appreciated. Prayers welcome.