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Brandon's Page 
Brandon meets his favorite Norfolk Admirals Hockey player.....
Ajay Baines
Welcome to Brandon's Page, and thank you for taking the time to join us on our journey. Our precious 8 year old son is having the physical struggle of his life, but at the same time is totally at peace because he knows God is in control. Mommy and Daddy could learn a few lessons from him!
Our lives were forever altered October 30, 2002 when we rushed Brandon to the hospital for a headache that wouldn't stop and had caused him to lose his sight and left him limp in our arms. The panic and helplessness a parent feels at that moment is indescribable. This was a booboo we couldn't kiss away and was bigger than anything else we had ever come across. We dropped to our knees and ran to God in fervent prayer. We had started a trip we didn't want to take, and we didn't want to go alone. We needed the Good Shepherd to take our hands and lead us where we should go.
A nurse at Children's Hospital saw me enter the E.R. and knew before anything was said that Brandon was critical and took us straight to Triage then on to the back, paperwork could be completed later. A CT scan of his head showed massive fluid buildup ,and HORRORS!, a tumor the size of a small child's fist smack dab in the middle of his brain. The first of many emergency calls to family and friends went out soon after, and thus began "The Journey".
Brandon is a very loving child who loves to give hugs and will kiss the palms of your hands giving you a bit of his love to carry with you wherever you go. He loves to sing praises to the Lord and won't go to sleep until his favorite CD "Shout to the Lord Kids!" given to him by his favorite teacher from preschool days, Ms. Penny, is playing and set to repeat over and over again so he can hear it if he wakes in the middle of the night and when he gets up in the morning. He loves Carmen's song "Satan, Bite the Dust", because as he says, the Devil is just not gonna win this time. His favorite Alabama song, "Angels Among Us" has special meaning now as our friend Rebecca Guiliani has gone to be with God and has joined the other angels watching over us. Brandon is an inspiration to us all, and to know him is to love him. He is such a polite and giving child, you just can't help it.
Please join us from time to time to follow his progress and get to know him and his family more as we continue to update this page. All of the prayers and support thus far have been greatly appreciated. Thank you, and God's blessings to you all.
Many have asked for his address for cards and letters. Please use the e-mail link at the bottom of the page and we will send you an address to use. Thank you.
** Please look at the dates on the entries, as they are back dated. Roberta wanted to share everything with all of our friends (new and old!)....Steve
FRIENDS>>>LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL VIRTUAL QUILT THAT WAS MADE FOR BRANDON BY QUILTS OF LOVE.... IT IS JUST BEAUTIFUL...
BRANDON'S ONLINE QUILT
Its big, so might take a bit to load....
Page Made By BRENDA With Love
Journal
Tuesday, October 3, 2006 10:46 PM CDT Somebody pinch me! Is it really October? Where has the time flown??? I know you all have been anxious for a Brandon update, so here goes. At the last MRI in July, there was no change in the tumor, but there was some radiation scarring developing, which I'm told is a normal thing. His eye doctor said that while there was no significant change in the eyes, the optic nerve had paled some more, meaning that further loss of vision is a definite possibility. Brandon could not accurately tell the doctor what he was looking at each time, no matter what the size of the object, because his vision was fading in and out. His vision is becoming intermittent rather than steady. Brandon has another MRI this Friday, and a follow up clinic visit November 6th. Hopefully the results will be the same, "no change", or better. We do have one concern to discuss with the doctors, Brandon's left eyelid is drooping to the point where there are times where it is barely open, and it's not just when he is tired. The doctors have already been made aware of the issue, but they don't have answers or solutions yet. I'm hoping that by November, somebody can tell us something. Keep on praying for God's will to be done. I know what answers "I" want to hear, but we know Brandon is in God's care, and He alone knows what is going on with our little man.
Ok, family update time. The kids are back in school and keeping us busy. John tried out for football, but so did a lot of other boys. Unfortunately he didn't make the final cut, but he did stick with the team as one of two managers. Coach says he works just as hard at taking care of the team as the team does at playing ball. We're proud that John stuck with it, even though not in the role he originally wanted. In support of her brother, Brianna joined the color guard to help cheer on the players. She was bummed when John didn't get to stay on the team. So far though all the games have been at other schools and the color guard doesn't travel to away games. Tomorrow is the first home game and her first night on the field. She is so excited to finally get to put all that practice to good use!
John and Brandon have decided to give Boy Scouts a try. So far they've only made a few meetings to see what it is all about, but they are looking forward to their first overnighter. It will be here sooner than they think. All three children have joined WYLD Life, a Christian based club at their school. They play games to break the ice, then share devotions, a prayer and a snack. I hung out a few times in the background to make sure everything was on the up and up and ended up staying. The kids outnumber the leaders like 20:1, sometimes more, and word got out that they'd appreciate help with crowd control, so I stayed. While some kids are there for the right reasons, many are there just because they can hang out with friends away from parents. Hopefully the meaning of the meetings will rub off on these kids. There are definitely worse places they could be; better that they hang out at a place like this. We also look forward to Wednesday Family Nights at church. While the food is always awesome, it's the friends we see and the adventures of the Jr. Youth Group that keep the nights interesting. In addition to devotions and praise time, we've started homework help tutoring sessions, we're bringing back the life issues discussions (I'm new to this one, but I heard last year that the kids brought up some deep issues!), and by popular request, kids will get a chance to stretch their musical horizons. Some really talented musicians of the church have offered to teach the kids how to play instruments and how to harmonize so they don't always have to sing melody. Loving music the way I do, I can't wait for this one!
I still sing in the church choir and the Virginia Voices, a traveling choir that Steve got me involved with through a friend of his at work. Voices went to Moscow in June (I stayed home...no vacation time available this year because of Brandon's radiation treatments last winter) on a musical mission trip, and they are now planning a trip to Petersburg, VA where we will be singing in a restored Civil War era church. I've heard it is beautiful! They are also preparing to tape a television broadcast to be shown around Christmas time. What's that about cameras adding weight? Boy am I in trouble! Steve received some grants to go back to school, so that's where he is four nights a week. He thought he'd take one computer class, but Financial Aid told him that if he wanted help, he had to increase his work load. They tried getting him into five classes a week, but he told them he had to draw the line somewhere; he has a full time job and a family. Thank goodness they didn't push the fifth day! He has two computer classes as well as English and Math. Boy is he loving life! :) hee hee hee! Classes end in December 2007, and he will join the graduating class in Spring 2008 to receive his diploma.
I've gotten very long winded with this update, so I better draw it to a close. Maybe next time I'll be able to keep things a little shorter. Yeah, right! Take care everyone, and thanks for coming to Brandon's site. Til next time!
Love,
Roberta
Read Journal History
Links: http://www.caringbridge.org/va/rebecca Rebecca G's website
http://www.hugsandhope.com A foundation for sick children.
http://www.wjlz.com The radio station where my dad is an on-air personality
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