Support Brian's Battle Against Leukemia

”Meet Brian. A papa, a son, a friend. Brian is one of the strongest men I know, not just because he is my son and he was a mixed martial arts fighter and an incredible pitcher with a nasty curveball, but because this man entered his 30s as a teacher and then changed careers after realizing he wanted to give back and do more for humankind. When he was a young boy he watched his dad have a heart attack and because the nurses and doctors were so kind to him and his mom he decided to become a nurse. Brian is a man that always pushes the envelope and conquers the inevitable when people doubt him. Entering the field of nursing as a man is no easy task. He went to the cardiac cath lab where the adrenaline was high and the lives needed saving. As a cardiac cath nurse he saved the lives of hundreds caring for them in their most vulnerable moments, holding their hand, calming them with his honesty and compassion. After years of on call he decided to pursue his other passion nurse leadership and focused on the patient experience. He became the Director of Patient Experience mentoring teaching and guiding fellow nurses and healthcare professionals to put the patient first and focus on three things: 1 be kind 2 protect your patients from harm 3 heal your patients with care, compassion and empathy. As Brian led his team of patient advocates he went to a routine dentist appointment and left there with more than clean teeth. There was a mass in his tongue that needed assessment by an oral surgeon as soon as possible. Just a week later Brian was undergoing radiation and chemo for mouth cancer. After three rounds the tumors were shrinking and things were looking up for him. As he got stronger he started back at his mixed martial arts gym and he went to practice on Sunday morning like he always did. After two hours of boxing, he didn’t feel so good. He headed to his apartment and found himself on the ground with severe neck pain followed by chest pain. As strong and stubborn as Brian is he decided to drive himself to the hospital and was met by his colleagues. He was having a heart attack at 38 years old. He was rushed to the cardiac cath lab where he used to save people and now Brian found himself laying on the table looking up at his colleagues hoping they would save him. In fact they did. He had a stent placed and recovered miraculously fast and was back home after just 6 days in the hospital. The next day the phone rang and it was his oral oncologist calling to let him know he was in remission. He no longer had detectable cancer cells! We celebrated and watched his recovery. He fell back into normal routines in life being a papa to his young son and continuing to lead his team at the hospital. He scheduled his 6 month follow up with his cardiologist and had his labs drawn before the appointment. Upon arrival the doctor said, “I believe there has been a mixup there is no way your lab results are what I’m seeing in the system. I want you have them redrawn.” More blood was drawn and the lab results were worse. He recommended immediately following up with a hematologist and five days later I received a call from my son that no mother ever wants to get. Brian said,”mom, I’ve been diagnosed with leukemia “. My son Brian was diagnosed and has had an uphill battle ever since.

He had a stem cell transplant in 2023, and we had hoped that would start his road to recovery. And it did for a while. Then he was dealing with GVHD ( graft versus host disease). And things have gotten progressively worse since then.

His lung function has severely decreased to the point he has 30% of the lung function he had before the transplant and requires oxygen 24/7, his heart function has severely decreased, and he has developed kidney disease in addition to the lung issues.Brian is in the hospital every few weeks. He travels to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota every other week for treatment as his condition is very rare and requires the expertise of the best physicians in the world. Needless to say, he had to stop working and has lost all benefits.Unfortunately, the expenses keep coming.

Brian is a very proud man and doesn’t like asking anyone for help, so for him to agree to let me do this for him was a big step.

Please, if you can, send a donation to help offset traveling, medical, and living expenses. And as always, please keep him and us in your prayers. Thank you!