Saturday, December 31st

Saturday morning Brandon was alert and speaking.  When I came in to see him I asked if he wanted me to turn on the TV.  It is small and in the corner so he said he couldn’t really see it.  I offered him his glasses but he said they were crappy (the prescription is very out of date).  I asked if he wanted for mom to bring him his contacts and he said yes.  I was very impressed by his progress on Saturday morning.  He did ask me, “Did you put Chandler in the cage?” but he corrected himself and said that he meant his dog, Brick.  I also had not mentioned Chandler’s name so I was pleased that he made the association with me. He told the nurse he was a bit uncomfortable so they gave him some Morphine.  He talked to me shortly after that and said, “This is freaking me out, the animals are just flying at me.”  Brandon ate an Italian Ice for breakfast and really seemed to enjoy it.  Two physical therapists showed up and got him out of bed.  He was able to walk around for a bit. With it being New Year’s Eve Brandon had lots of company.  We took turns going in 2 (or 3 we broke the rules) at a time.  Tim, Michael, and Billy played games in the waiting room and Cassie did some reflexology to help Brandon heal.  He had another Italian Ice for dinner and was able to go on another walk with the physical therapists.  Brandon has been trying to sell his car and when my mom asked for some password information to his online advertising account he responded “Mother, that was rude.”  Mom had to giggle because the comment was made in a typical Brandon tone but made no sense. : ) He also had a full conversarion with Billy about going to Dell Taco for some dinner. At the end of the day Brandon’s eyes began to roll back in his head and he began to do some drooling.  He also became less responsive…but it had been a long day.

Each of us took a moment as the clock struck 12:00 a.m. on New Year’s to think of Brandon and truly yearn for him to be with us. 

We Love you Brandon!!!

Friday, December 30th

Brandon was given a dosage of steroids Thursday night and doing much better. He was able to wake up Friday morning and get scheduled for surgery. All of us who know and love Brandon understand how finicky he can be about his hair so the lingering question before surgery was what was going to happen to it.  He expressed to Dr. R his desire to keep the top of his hair long.  Dr. R asked “have you seen Dumb and Dumber?”  Unfortunately, Dr. R was unable to convey his wishes to the pre-op team before surgery so it all came off.  We were not able to see Brandon with the Jim Carrey look.  Surgery went well.  Thanks again to Dr. R for his skills and knowledge.  He then got settled into his room on the ICU floor for recovery.  A CT scan was done shortly after his surgery so that they could have a reference of what his brain looked like following the operation.  As the evening progressed he was able to open his eyes and acknowledge that we were there.  He was able to follow simple commands by squeezing our hand or nodding his head.  He was doing remarkably well for having such an eventful day.

Thursday, December 29th

Early Thursday morning, Brandon was taken for an MRI to further investigate some abnormalities discovered in his CT scan.  The MRI revealed a mass on his Pineal gland, located at the center of his brain. We were assured that it was a blessing that the tumor was discovered at a very early stage of development and were asked to wait for the Neurosurgeon to visit later in the day for further details.  As the day progressed, Brandon continued to run high fevers, became agitated, and more difficult to arouse from sleep.  When the Neurosurgeon (Dr. R) visited, he assured us that the mass was likely a benign cyst and that it should be removed at some point in time.  Because of the uncertainty of his condition and symptoms, he recommended that we remove the tumor the following morning as long as Brandon was responsive at the time of surgery.  We are truly grateful to have such a talented Neurosurgeon helping Brandon.    We have been assured that Dr. R is the best in our area and his confidence and experience is very reassuring.  Through the night Brandon continued to display some erratic behavior.  At one point he became very agitated and stated “I cannot find Lance’s body”…. Does anyone know who Lance is? He may need to do some explaining when he wakes up : ) He also really wanted to go home.

Wednesday, December 28th

Brandon began to feel ill on Christmas Eve with symptoms of low-grade fever, headache, and vomiting.  He was able to enjoy Christmas with his Family and Friends but was feeling really poorly.  On Tuesday he went to the family physician and was diagnosed with the flu and treated for his headaches.  At this point his temperatures were very mild.  On Wednesday his headaches had increased in intensity and his fever reached as high as 104 degrees.  He was taken to the Instacare and then directly to the ER.  Because of the intensity of his headaches and extreme fever he received a CT scan of his brain and a lumbar puncture to test for meningitis.  He was then admitted to the hospital for observation.