Brad's cancer journey began on April 22, 2019. Weeks prior, Brad had not been feeling like himself and was experiencing some unusual symptoms. He has always been very active and would wake up at 5am most mornings to go to the gym before work. He began to notice his energy levels slowing down and was tired more than normal. He also experienced leg cramps and a burning sensation in his calves when he walked up a flight of stairs. At first, he attributed these symptoms to the flu or bad allergies, so he visited an ENT who prescribed him some allergy relief. On April 18th, when he felt as though nothing was improving, he made an appointment with his primary doctor who ordered lab work. On April 19th, his doctor called and told him to immediately leave work and go emergency room because all his blood counts were extremely low. I remember picking him up from work and talking on our way to the ER that he must have some type of serious infection. Fast forward to late that evening, after a multitude of tests, sticks, and antibiotics, we met with a hematologist who told us that Brad potentially had some kind of blood disease. They scheduled for him to have a bone marrow biopsy and on April 22, Brad was diagnosed with Acute Undifferentiated Leukemia. We were shocked, we were devastated, we were scared, but we knew God was in control.
He began his first round of chemotherapy three days later and by God's grace entered remission in late June. His team of doctors believed the next steps should be a bone marrow transplant, and as the team searched for a full match, Brad continued to receive chemotherapy. After many failed full matches, we learned that his sister was a half match and would be able to donate her cells to save Brad's life. On August 14, 2019, Brad had a haploidentical bone marrow transplant. He spent 28 days in the hospital recovering from the many hurdles of transplant, and was able to come home on September 7th. The following two months brought two arduous hospital stays where Brad spent 2 weeks recovering from fevers, unidentified meningitis, and a fall which led to a subdural hematoma. By December, his energy levels had almost returned to normal and he was able to do more and more of his normal routine. We continued our weekly visits to the clinic for lab work and doctor's appointments. We celebrated the new year at home and were excited to welcome 2020 together. By March, Brad was ready to return to work part-time, but his doctors strongly advised against it due to the unknowns of the novel coronavirus. Late April, we began to notice his blood counts declining and his doctors began looking deeper into his labs. As Brad began to experience some familiar symptoms, his doctor scheduled a bone marrow biopsy and a few days later we found out the leukemia had returned as acute myeloid leukemia. Those familiar feelings came crashing in and we struggled to push our fears aside. Again, God calmed and steered our hearts towards Him, and we knew He was in control.
Brad was admitted on May 9, 2020 and the next two months brought some of the most difficult trials that Brad had yet to face. After one round of chemotherapy, Brad went into remission again by the grace of God. During one of the chemo pushes; however, Brad had a reaction which started a downward decline of his overall health. He began to accumulate fluid around his lungs and heart, and his kidneys took a major hit which led to acute kidney injury. As days went on, Brad's breathing became more and more labored. Any type of movement led to extreme shortness of breath and he was placed on oxygen which he needed around the clock. The ultrasounds, echocardiogram, and CT's confirmed the accumulations of fluid around his heart and lungs, and he was moved to the cardiac ICU. At this point, the fluid gain was approximately 30 pounds and he was rushed for emergency surgery to remove the fluid from his heart and lungs. Brad had 2 pericardiocentesis and a pericardial window within a 72 hours period. The cardiac surgeon left 3 chest tubes in to allow the remaining fluid to drain out. After surgery, the doctors told us that Brad only had a 2 inch space around his lungs with no fluid. It was a miracle that he survived. Brad spent a total of 70 days in the hospital recovering from all the complications. A day before we were going to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in the hospital, Brad's doctor told us we could go home. We cherished this gift and blessing from God.
Since coming home last July, Brad has been in remission and was able to return to work in October. He has been receiving maintenance chemo and had two donor lymphocyte infusions from his sister's stored cells. A few weeks ago Brad's platelets began dropping again and his doctors ordered a bone marrow biopsy. On April 24, we found out that Brad had relapsed again. They believed that Brad's best chance for remission was to seek treatment at MD Anderson. We arrived on Monday, May 3rd and Brad has been undergoing tests to determine the best treatment options.
A HUGE Thank You to everyone who has supported us on this journey. You have touched our lives in so many ways and we are eternally grateful for the loving impact you have made in our lives. We appreciate your continued prayers, support and encouragement. We will continue to post updates on this site and would love for you to follow along with us.
Today Brad would be turning 37 years old. While I still cannot fully wrap my mind around all that is, I do know that Brad is living and celebrating all God's glory in Heaven. I am so blessed to have been able to spend the last 15 years of my life knowing, loving, and celebrating all the things that made him such an amazing person. He was a loving, strong and determined, a fighter, someone who never put himself before others, and loved the Lord. He was my best friend, a constant supporter, and loved me through all our phases and growths in life. There will never be a day that goes by that I will not think about our years together and the cherished memories we shared. Thank you Lord for giving me Brad and allowing me to be his wife for the past 11 years. He will forever be in my heart!
Brad's Celebration of Life will be Saturday, October 30 at Hunter Street Baptist Church inside the Chapel. Visitation will be from 10:30-12:00 CST and the service will begin at 12:00 CST. We would love to have you join us in celebration of Brad's remarkable and cherished life.
To honor and celebrate Brad, I have established a scholarship in his name at Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy. We would love for you to consider donating a small amount in Brad's name to help provide and support future students on their journey to becoming pharmacists.
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