Brody A Brody’s Fight

I have been going back and forth on whether or not to share this, I don’t know that I even have the right words to say. Heck, I’m not sure there is a “right” thing to say, but I have decided that it can only help me to talk about it openly.
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A few weeks ago Brody was experiencing what we thought to be constipation after he got over his gastroenteritis. We tried all of the at home remedies, took him to the doctor twice, had an X-ray to determine what was going on, gave him 2 pediatric enemas, watched him feel like absolute garbage and become basically emaciated.
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With nothing working or changing and him being consistently in pain, we took him on Tuesday to Children’s Minnesota ER. They did more scans and discovered an obstruction in his bowel. His bowel was telescoped with his lower intestine. We tried a non invasive treatment using air to try to push it open, but when that didn’t work they needed to surgically go in to fix it. Upon going in, the surgeon was able to see that there was a 3 inch portion that couldn’t be saved so he did a resection of it. In order to try to find an explanation for the telescoped issue they sent the piece they respected out to pathology. We knew we would be at children’s for a while so he could recover from the surgery, but on Wednesday afternoon we received the news no parent ever wants to receive.
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Our sweet, energetic, lovable, mommas boy has been diagnosed with Burkitts Lymphoma. It doesn’t feel real. There’s no reason for it. Nothing could have prevented it. It’s not hereditary. Not that any of that would have made this any more understandable or easier to accept. There’s still a lot for us to learn about this disease, but for now we are as comforted as anyone could be by knowing that what he has isn’t the end. It’s extremely responsive to chemotherapy and has a very high success rate for not having any further issues. This chemotherapy he will receive is going to be extremely aggressive and painful and it will rip our hearts apart every minute to see him hurting.
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Brodys support system is massive. His doctors, surgeon, nurses, and oncologist have been nothing short of amazing. We have had family drop everything and come to take care of our girls, dogs, and house or offer to help any way they can no matter how far away they are. Friends who have poured love and support and encouragement. Most importantly; Ricky has been an absolute rock during everything. Controlling his own fear and sadness so he could be strong and supportive of me and my emotions. Supporting me to continue trying to continue with school so I can have that distraction and focus on something outside of this horror. He’s asked all of the questions that I couldn’t think of and calmed me down when I just wanted to melt away. We have had a rough couple of years and he’s been nothing short of amazing since the moment we went knew this wasn’t going to be a minor problem. Having him by my side and being the strength I so desperately need is more than I could have asked for.
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I will do my best to update as time progresses but we have a long road ahead of us. I’m sorry if I am unable to get back to messages or texts quickly. Just know that we appreciate all of the support during this impossible time. Brody is the strongest little boy and he will push through this and have some badass scars to talk about when he’s older. He’s strong, resilient, beautiful inside and out, and he is so incredibly beyond loved. We will get through this. I just need to remind myself of this everyday...💔❤️