#BriannatheBrave

It amazes me how busy life can be even to write just a simple blog! However, I know many of you want updates and yearn to know where things are so here we go...

Eli came home from the hospital on January 26, 2018. He no longer needed breathing support nor his feeding tube. He is doing really well. When Eli was born he weighed 4 lbs 10 oz. He now weighs 6 lbs 6 oz. He is drinking formula as Brianna is not able to breastfeed and we decided this would be easier anyway. We absolutely love having him home and it is so wonderful not having to travel to the hospital twice a day to see Eli. He is fed every three hours 3, 6, 9, 12 and repeat. Sometimes it feels like we are a broken record with the schedule but he is doing great! I have the lucky job of the 12 am and 3 am feedings which I don't mind too much. I am tired at times but it does allow me to spend some precious time with my son in ways that I wouldn't be able to otherwise. He is sleeping well and adjusting to home life very well. Watson loves having his baby brother around. Unfortunately he has been slightly sick ever since Eli came home so he hasn't had the chance to hold him just yet but we will get there and I am certain that he will love it. Life seems almost normal.......

Brianna had an appointment with her Medical Oncologist Dr. Jenkins on Thursday January 18, 2018. Prior to that appointment, she went and had repeat MRI to follow up with radiation and determine the next steps. For the past several months, there have been conversations regarding which direction Brianna should take with her treatment. There has been discussion regarding chemotherapy as on option and alternative treatments as another option. Brianna was weighing the options for a long time and trying to decide between the two. The main two treatment options she was considering were Temodar (Chemo) or Protocel (Alternative). Temodar is the standard treatment that the physicians would suggest and Protocel seems to be the standard treatment that any alternative consumer would suggest. Temodar is a chemo pill that would be taken daily for 5 days in a row and then have 23 days off with no chemo and then repeat. It is typical to continue this treatment regimen for several years. Temodar is typically considered maintenance chemotherapy and over time although it may prolong the progression of the tumor; it typically doesn't last for more than two or three years. Protocel on the other hand, is a liquid that is taken every day, five times a day. There are no clinical trials for Protocel but many people have shared their success stories from using it. It is typical to continue this treatment until it no longer works. These are the two she was mainly deciding between although there were others.

While meeting with Dr. Jenkins, we were informed that the MRI showed some minor growth which could mean a couple of things. It could mean that the cancer continued to grow during the radiation treatment or it could also mean that there is simply some swelling still. Dr. Jenkins said that the MRI won't be a tell all and that the treatment would tell us in real time what is happening. However, he did inform us that without the chemo followed by radiation that the survival rate for 2 years is roughly 10% and chemo would only improve that to about 27%. He then shared with us that regardless of choosing chemo or not, the survival rate for Brianna's type of cancer would be about 5% at 5 years. This was a big shock for us all. It is hard to believe all of this is happening but we continued to ask questions and we all continue to love and support Brianna.

Brianna had a tough decision to make and she went back and forth a lot but she ended up deciding her treatment plan as she felt was the best option. She has decided to start with Protocel and see what it does for at least 6-8 weeks. She wants to reevaluate then. If it is working and she feels like she is improving, she will continue the Protocel. If she feels it isn't working or she feels like there hasn't been much improvement her plan at that point would be to switch to the chemotherapy. I love her and support her decision as I hope each of you will do. I know that making this decision was one of the hardest choices she has had to make.

I hope more than anything, as I am sure each of you do, that Brianna will be healed. I hope that she will overcome this and I hope that we will continue to raise our children together. Most importantly, I hope that Brianna is happy and feels loved. I know that God lives and He is truly a God of miracles. I know if it is His will that she is to be healed, then she will be. I also know if He has other plans, our family will continue to put our trust and faith in Him. Sometimes we don't understand the reasoning or understand the motive behind different trials in our lives but I do know that if we put our faith and trust in God, that we can overcome all things.

I recently started reading a book "All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience" and I came across this quote, "The myopic and despairing soul-cry and question, "If there is a god, why does He permit suffering?" reflects a basic failure to understand the very nature of life with its components of chastening and suffering. And as for that question, it is not difficult to imagine who originated it, however understandably sincere some are who now raise it. The question strikes at the heart of Father's plan, because it comes from him who rejected that plan!". Our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us to return to live with Him eternally. We don't always understand why that is sooner for some than others. I am not saying I think it is Brianna's time, but if He is calling her home, this is His plan and I will trust in Him. Another quote that I read, "Furthermore, since there was no exemption from suffering for Christ, how can there be one for us? Do we really want immunity from adversity? Especially when certain kinds of suffering can aid our growth in this life? To deprive ourselves of those experiences, much as we might momentarily like to, would be to deprive ourselves of the outcomes over which we shouted with anticipated joy when this life's experiences were explained to us so long ago, in the world before we came here." It is easy to look at trials and tribulations and to blame God. Brianna and I continue to look towards God with hope and with thankful hearts. Through our trials, we are drawing closer to each other and to our Father in Heaven. We are able to more fully understand joy because we are experiencing the sorrow. We continue to trust in Heavenly Father and live each day to the fullest. It would be easy to give up or to fear the unknown but we choose to live and love. There are moments when we feel tired and weak but in those moments we are lifted up by God and often it is through each of you that we feel uplifted. We continue to ask for your support and your prayers as that is what allows us to continue to have hope because we feel that strength. May we each strive to put our trust in God.

We know that God lives and loves each of His children. We are all His children and He has a plan for each of us to return to live with Him. We know that Jesus Christ lives and it is because of His great love and sacrifice that we can each be uplifted through our trials. We know that we are here to gain experience and to truly learn joy. In order to truly understand joy we must feel sorrow and suffering. We know that God will never give us more than we can handle and that through our trials we can become who Heavenly Father wants us to be. Often times this requires some stretching. "The soul is like a violin string: It makes music only when it is stretched". Heavenly Father sees our inner potential and as we continue to trust in Him and put our faith in His plan, we can become who He intends us to become. We know that our family is Eternal and that no matter how long or short this life may be, we can each live with our families again after this life. We are forever happy and grateful for all we are given and we will continue to find the joy in all things we are given, one simple day at a time.

It's a boy!!!!

Well a lot has happened since the last time we made a blog post. I guess I will do my best to catch you up.

The Hospital before Christmas:
Well Brianna ended up staying four days in the hospital. She was off and off with her eating but she was able to keep her food down so that was good. They kept her on IV fluid the whole time and actually decided that it would be best if they inserted an PICC line (basically a IV access that stayed in her arm until they decided to take it out). She didn't love having this in her arm but it did make things easier for her and the nurses. Instead of poking her for an IV each time they were able to just use the PICC line. Brianna was discharged on Wednesday December 20 from the hospital which was great! However, there was concern that she would end up getting sick again and not having an appetite so it was decided that she would return to the hospital on a daily basis for IV fluids until the baby was born. Seems simple enough but it took several hours each day which wasn't fun. However we convinced Dr. Perrone to let Brianna have Christmas Eve and Christmas off so that was great. From there out Brianna only went about every other day for IV fluids until the baby was born. We did enjoy getting to know all of the wonderful nurses and it was nice to see her while I was at work but it still wasn't very much fun.

Brianna's parents came to town on December 20th and have been here ever since helping out! They have been a tremendous help and we are so grateful that they are here. They have been able to help Brianna stay positive as well as tend to Watson while we have been spending so much time in the hospital. They have also been helping with the housework and that has taken a lot of stress off of my plate for the time being. Brianna finished her last day of Radiation on December 21!!!!!! NO MORE RADIATION!!!! She was very excited. Here are some pics from her on the last day!

                              

Brianna is very excited that she no longer has to continue radiation. Dr. Goble told us that it is very unusual to have to go through radiation again so it is very unlikely that she will ever need to go through it again which made her feel really good!!!! Dr. Goble informed us that he would let Dr. Jenkins, Medical Oncologist (Chemo doctor), take care of the MRI so we could see how the radiation did for treatment. Dr. Jenkins decided that there was no need to do the MRI until after the baby was born and told us to have a meeting with him 2 weeks following the baby being born to finalize the chemo treatment plan. Dr. Jenkins informed us that the chemo usually didn't have any side affects and most people handled it well so that was excited. The plan is to do 5 days of chemotherapy with pills and then have 28 days off and then start the cycle over again. The question we have all wanted to know is for how long. We were informed that Brianna would probably repeat this cycle for 2-3 years as this chemo is more of a maintenance drug and the hope is to keep the cancer from growing back. Dr. Jenkins also informed us that it is likely that after 2-3 years that the chemo will stop working and we will have to start thinking about other options whether those be other medications or homeopathic options. He shared a couple of stories with us about woman who were pregnant that after two years no longer needed the chemotherapy so we are hopeful!

Christmas
Christmas was a lot of fun this year. We were able to spend some time with family on both sides which was a blast. We had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents and Christmas with her parents at our house. It was nice not having to think about cancer or the hospital or anything else like it. We just relaxed and enjoyed our time together as a family. Watson enjoyed all of his gifts and he really enjoyed opening all of the presents and ripping off the wrapping paper. We also had the opportunity to spend some time with the Elders and Sisters, missionaries from our church, and that was a lot of fun. We gave them some gifts as well. We had the Geddie tradition of eating finger foods on Christmas Eve and for Christmas dinner we had ham, potatoes casserole, rolls, salad, pie and a strawberry jello dish (which I LOVE). It was fun spending time together as family and remembering the real meaning of Christmas. We focused on our Savior and the gospel and all the many blessings we have received in 2017 and the blessings we continue to receive. Although a lot has changed in our lives, we continue to recognize the Hand of God in our lives and we are ever grateful for all that we have been given.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018-It's a BOY!!!!!
I am sure most of you have been waiting for this part of the blog! The Cesarian Section was scheduled for Wednesday January 3 at noon. We arrived at the hospital at 10:00 am to get everything ready. Brianna was prepped and while I waited, I went and had lunch with my dad, Dr. Perrone and Dr. Dawson who would be performing the C-section so that was a lot of fun just eating together before everything went down. Dr. Perrone and Dr. Dawson headed out and informed us when it was time for us to head back. Typically only the father goes back into the delivery room for C-sections but as Dad is Dr. Geddie, Neonatologist, at the hospital, he was privileged to go back as well. We had great staff in the delivery room. The NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) was in the room as well as the delivery team. As the baby would be born at 32 weeks it was certain that he would be admitted to the NICU and thus the team was there. So we had two OB-GYN's and two Neonatologist in the room.  Dr. Geddie was not on at the time but was allowed to go back. Dr. Carmichael was the physician on that day for the NICU so she was there too. As I gowned up in the proper attire, I said a little prayer that everything would go okay. I felt nervous but assured that all would go well. I felt so much love for my family and Brianna and I just swelled with joy. My dad took me back into the room where Brianna already was and I was informed to sit by her and hold her hand. It seems like it happened in the blink of an eye. They started the procedure and within moments, they announced that they were pulling him out. My dad told me to stand up and take pictures. As I did so, I saw him. What a beautiful baby boy. Eli Grant Geddie was born at 12:33pm on January 3, 2018. When he came out, he made a small cry, the showed him to Brianna and me and then handed him to the NICU team to start taking care of him. I left Brianna's side to go see our son. He didn't seem very happy at first but everyone was calm which reassured me that he was doing okay. He wasn't breathing as well as they would have liked so they were giving him some oxygen but everything else seemed to be okay. As the team worked on Brianna to finish sewing her back up, the NICU team starting prepping Eli to head to the NICU. I decided that Brianna was okay and that I would go with Eli to the NICU to make sure everything was okay. Once at the NICU they weighed and measured Eli. He weighed 4 lbs. 10 oz. and measured 18.25 inches long. For a 32 week old baby, this was pretty good! After everything settled down in the NICU, I went back to check on Brianna. She was in the recovery room and I was informed that her family could come in. I went and showed pictures to Kim and Terry and then we went and spent some time with Brianna. After a while, they decided to go home and rest while Brianna was resting. After about an hour, the nurse decided that Brianna was doing well enough to move to PostPartum where she would spend the rest of her stay until discharged. As we left recovery, it was decided to take Brianna to see baby Eli. She spent a few minutes with him and held his hand for the first time! He was on CPAP with was to help him breathe and he had an IV but she was still able to hold his hand. We then headed to let Brianna rest. By that evening, Brianna was feeling so good that she got in a wheelchair and we went to see baby Eli again. She held Eli for the first time and it was beautiful. She did skin to skin and she just felt at peace. For once, we didn't worry about cancer or the negatives, we focused on the miracle of birth and the joy that came from meeting our precious son. I went home to spend a few minutes with Watson and have dinner and then headed back to the hospital where I slept on a magnificent bench (sarcasm intended). While I was at home, the Schuebert's came and visited with Brianna which was awesome and it made her feel great! We are only allowed to let 6 people go and visit with Eli so unfortunately not everyone is allowed to see him. This is to keep the NICU not as busy but also allow Eli to get the rest that he needs. Dr. Geddie instituted a rule that for the first 6 hours of the baby's life only mom and dad can see the baby so no one else really met him today.

Thursday, January 4, 2018-The next day...
I woke up and started getting ready for work. That's right, I went to work. Gotta pay the bills! Although it helps that I work at the very hospital that we were staying at so really I could come and see Brianna and Eli whenever I wanted. Brianna was doing great with recovery and seemed to not have very much pain. She went to go see Eli and just rested. We had some wonderful guest come and visit today. Bishop and Sister Cooper saw Brianna during lunch, Bishop and Sister Martin came to visit for a little bit, Donna Fas came in for a few minutes, and then the Mecham's came in for a little while. These were all wonderful visits and we felt so loved. It was so good spending time with these individuals and I feel we were each uplifted by the different visits. Not much else happened today but Brianna and Eli are doing well. I held Eli for the first time today. It felt so good to have him in my arms and it felt so good just to hold him! He feels so delicate because of the breathing and the IV but it did feel nice to hold him.

Friday, January 5, 2018-A little concerned...
Brianna seemed to be having some issues today. She wasn't able to speak very well this morning or make any decisions. I was pretty concerned and nervous that something was going wrong. I spent some of the morning with her as well as going to work. I was cornered that she wasn't doing as well and told her to just sleep and rest in the morning. I went home around lunch to allow Kim and Terry to go and visit with Brianna. They called when Dr. Perrone came and Brianna seemed to be doing better so that was good. Dr. Perrone thought that Brianna was just tired from everything and she seemed to be better so that was good! Once Kim and Terry got back, I went to Lowe's to get some supplies as we decided to build a ramp as Brianna really struggles to get up our stairs into our home. I went with a member from our congregation. It was a huge blessing as he knew exactly what we needed as he had designed the ramp! Daren Graham helped out so much and he really designed the project and was our team leader! We can't thank him enough! We bought a billion pieces of lumber as the ramp was designed to be 35 feet long. After getting the lumber, I headed to the hospital to sleep on a wonderful bench again! We were both pretty tired but we decided to go see Eli before going to bed. It was wonderful just being with him. We then went back to the room and went to bed and hoped that Brianna could go home the next day.

Saturday, January 6, 2018-Home Sweet Home
We woke up around 6 with the on call doctor in our room wanting to know how Brianna was doing and if she wanted to come home today. She said she was more than ready and he said he would put in the orders so she could go home later that day. I got up and got ready so I could get to our house for the big Ramp Build day! I got to the house and the group started arriving. We probably had 15+ people come from the church to help build the ramp today. Brianna has had a hard time walking down our pathway because of the uneven path and the rocks. It is difficult because her foot doesn't lift like it used to and she has a harder time being sturdy. The idea for the ramp was so she didn't have to walk on the path and so she didn't have to do stairs as those are pretty hard for her too. We most of the day building a 35 foot ramp. After a couple of hours, Brianna called and said that she was ready to come home. I headed up to the hospital to sign some paperwork, we spent some time with Eli and then we headed home. Brianna looked happy that the ramp was being built but when she came home it looked like nothing had been done! She went in and took a nap and rested while we continued to work. By about 3 or 4 the ramp was completed and it was awesome! I went and got Brianna and brought her out to try it out! She loved it and was so grateful! We will never be able to thank all of those who came and spent their Saturday serving us. After some dinner, Brianna and I went to see Eli. They took him off of the breathing today!!!!! That was wonderful!! They also gave him a bath so it was really like the first time we were seeing our son because the CPAP covered most of his face. It was so wonderful. We spent several hours with him because it just felt sooooo good! Today was a good day because Momma came home and baby got off the breathing machine and it just felt good!

We also have to give a shout out to all of the amazing healthcare providers that have been working with Brianna and Eli. We have been truly blessed with some of the best and we can feel their love for us. One of the nurses the other night said that she feels that the NICU babies are part of her family and that helped us remember that we are all one big family. It also reassured us that our little one is being cared for the way that we would care for him. We have a huge family at CHI St. Joseph and we continue to feel loved by those taking care of us. The nurses, doctors and all other team members are amazing and we love them so much for who they are and what they do to serve our family. We are truly blessed.

We continue to see the miracles that are pronounced on our family. We continually put our faith and trust in God. We know that things aren't always easy but we feel so much peace because of the knowledge that families are forever. We were reminded of the blessing of service. It has always been so easy to find people to serve. What we have been learning through this trial is that sometimes you have to be the one that needs to be served. It is easy to say we are doing okay or that we don't need service but we are reminded that for people to be able to serve, there must be those that need to be served. We are at a point in our life that we have to be willing to allow others to serve us. This has been very humbling and we have had our eyes opened even more to the plan that God has for us. We know that by serving others, we can draw closer to God because we can feel His love when we serve others. We will never be able to thank each of you for your service to our family. These blessings come through physical labor, through prayers and so much more. We know hat God lives, He loves us and He knows us. We know that God has a plan and as we put faith in Him, we can overcome all things. We know that through service we can feel the spirit of God and it is a great opportunity to serve but even more so to be served. We love our Watson and we love our Eli. We feel so loved by friends, family and our Heavenly Father. We continue to look for the positive and look forward to so much more that we have ahead.

              

Hospital

It all started with a cold. 
Brianna wasn't feeling well last Sunday December 10, 2017 so we decided to take it easy and let her rest. The next morning she seemed to be feeling better and was able to eat regularly. We had several appointments that day including Radiation and a visit to see her eye doctor on Monday. Our main concern was that Brianna's right eye was starting to close similar to her left eye at the start of all of this. Over the weekend we thought that maybe her eye was closing because of the swelling from radiation. We decided to ask Dr. Goble (Radiation Oncologist) about his thoughts and what he thought we should do. He had started her on a steroid to help with the swelling but it didn't seem to be working. He felt uncertain as to why things were as they were. It is not everyday that they have cancer patients who are pregnant which only makes things more difficult. Following meeting with Dr. Goble, we headed over to see Dr. Lindsey. He felt the vision was good but the eyelid was drooping. He informed us that we wouldn't be able to do any temporary fixes with surgery because they didn't know if this was temporary or not. He designed some sort of crutch to help keep Brianna's eye open. It seemed to help a little but it also didn't so on our way home Brianna took it off. As we were driving home, Brianna asked me to pull over and she threw up everything she had eaten that day. As she wasn't feeling well, I took work off and stayed home to care for her and Watson. She didn't keep anything down the rest of the day. Tuesday, she was feeling a little better and was able to eat a small amount at each meal but still not what we would have liked. Wednesday she started feeling sick again and threw up both breakfast and lunch and then just didn't eat the rest of the day. Thursday she still wasn't feeling very well. She went to see her OB-GYN, Dr. Perrone, and she seemed a little concerned and ordered some Zofran for the nausea to better help Brianna. We then headed over to Radiation and she got zapped. We then met with Dr. Goble and he felt concerned as well. We discussed that her eye still wasn't any better and he decided to increase how often Brianna was taking her steroid. The steroid was to help with the swelling in her brain caused by the radiation. He gave Brianna some Ensure and Boost to try and get some calories in and to help her try and eat some. My mom took Brianna home and she didn't really eat much. By the time I got home from work, Brianna still wasn't eating and wasn't feeling well. It was decided that she needed to go to the ER and get some fluids. They gave her IV fluid and some Zofran via the IV which really helped her feel better. We were in the ER from 7pm till about midnight. Needless to say it was a long night!

Friday morning Brianna was feeling better still and ate a little for breakfast. She went to radiation and was able to get a little bit of lunch down. When I got home at 3:30 she was throwing up again. It just seemed like she was having a terrible cold that she couldn't get over. She wanted to rest and not eat anything that night and I agreed. She seemed to be switching back and forth from feeling nauseated or having no appetite at all and that was the case all week. Saturday she didn't really eat anything at all as she wasn't feeling well. By the end of the day she was feeling a little better and tried to eat some soup but it didn't settle well in her stomach. Sunday morning it was decided that she had gone long enough and she had lost 5 pounds which is no bueno when pregnant. She was asked to head to the hospital to be admitted.

We took Watson to Grandma Geddie and headed to the hospital. As she was a direct admit when we arrived at the ER they checked us in and then took us right up to her room. They started and IV and got some medicine to help with her feeling nauseated. By dinner she was able to finally get some food down. It still wasn't perfect but she was feeling a little better. I went home and took care of Watson while Brianna rested. I woke up and was ready to go but Watson wanted to sleep in which he never does! He work up and I finally got him to my parents and then I headed to work/to see Brianna. She still wasn't feeling herself when I arrived but she was feeling a little better. She was hoping to go home but they decided that they needed to get things under control and see what was going on. By lunch she wasn't feeling again and was starting to lose her appetite again. She rested all afternoon and then they moved her to a new room later in the evening. She didn't really feel like eating dinner but did eat some of it. She asked me to stay the night with her so Watson stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Geddie while I stayed at the hospital with Brianna. Today the doctor came in and told her that she needed to stay at least one more day which made Brianna pretty sad. She didn't eat much at breakfast and she only had an appetite for fruit at lunch. She rested some and Watson, Grandpa Geddie and Aunt Laura came to visit which was good! She also talked to some family and her best friend Sadie and I think that really lifted her spirit. She ordered a decent size dinner and she ate it all! She seems to finally be feeling a little better. I think her appetite is going to come and go but as long as she is getting food down and keeping it down that is great! The plan moving forward is to have some in home health where she has the IV at home to keep her hydrated and give her the constant mediation so she can keep up her appetite. The C-Section is in two weeks so they want to keep her up and going for that. Hopefully we will have more information tomorrow and she will get to go home!

We are constantly reminded of the love that you each have for us. Thank you for your constant gifts especially your gift of love. We feel your prayers, we are strengthened by you and we know that we are not alone. We are constantly reminded of the love that Heavenly Father has for us. The best blessing has been the fact that I work here and I am constantly able to come and see her and make sure she is doing okay. It has been a miracle in our lives being a part of this CHI St. Joseph family and we know that we are so very blessed. We know that God lives and although we may not always like our path, it is the only way that we can become who we were meant to be. We know that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and we know that we are loved. Again we thank you for your love and prayers as we truly feel strengthened. May God bless each one of you with the blessings you may need at this time.

Together....

It's been a while.....

I realize that it has been a while for any updates. I figured people weren't all that interested but I have been told otherwise. First things first, Brianna is doing well. She has gone through 4 weeks of Radiation. She only has two more weeks! She is very excited to be done with it. She goes everyday Monday-Friday to the Cancer Center for treatment. She still doesn't feel any pain but the radiation makes her really tired. She tends to go to bed around 8-9 and just feels tired all the time. The treatment is pretty quick. She puts on a tight mask a the machine does its job for about 10 minutes. Everyday she comes to the Cancer Center and typically my mom brings her. It is nice because I am able to walk over and see her and often we end up having lunch together with my dad as well. 

Recently we noticed that some of her symptoms have gotten a little worse. She has started having some issues with her cognitive functions. She has a harder time trying to explain what she is thinking. It is often difficult for her to finish her train of thought. This has been very difficult for her as she feels a little embarrassed by it but she also feels it is difficult to talk and say what is on her mind because she can't. I constantly remind her that she is wonderful and that she can take her time to talk. Sometimes she chooses not to talk because it is easier for her to just not talk but I continue to encourage her to talk as she has so much to say :) We have also noticed that her right eye, her good eye, or rather her right eyelid has started to droop. We are hoping that this is due to inflammation or swelling but we really aren't sure. The doctor started her on some steroids to try and help with these symptoms so we are hoping that it is swelling and not the tumor spreading. I know what you are thinking, can't they just do imaging to know for sure? That is what I thought. The answer I was given was no, as they would not be able to determine for sure even if they did do the imaging. 

We obtained a little more information regarding the pathology results. I will do my best to sum it up and explain it simply. As expected, this is an Anaplastic Astrocytoma or Grade 3 Astrocytoma. The mutations were observed and it was found that she does not have an IDH1 or IDH2 mutation. Typically this proves to be a better prognosis if these mutations are found within the cancer. However, the worst prognosis with the K27 mutation was not there either. She does have a mutation H3F3A G34. My dad and I were talking about these results and we discussed that these results don't change anything as the treatment is the same regardless. This is also true because the cancer that she has is the cancer she has and the genetics don't really change that. This is a pretty tough cancer and it is pretty intrusive. The doctor explained the most cancers expand like a balloon being filled with air. Brianna's cancer is more like a tree with different limbs and the roots are at the brain stem. This is one of the main reasons why she can't have surgery. Although it doesn't look perfect, we continue to have faith and believe in God. 

Moving Forward:

I just wanted to give you an idea of what we are looking at moving forward. Brianna has 8 more days of Radiation. Her parents will arrive next Wednesday which will be a great help but more importantly a great support for Brianna at this time. Brianna will be given two weeks off following Radiation to rest and relax. She will then have a C-Section scheduled for January 3rd 2018. The baby will be delivered at 32 weeks, 8 weeks early, and thus will stay in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for at least a month and a half. Luckily we know the best Neonatalogist (my dad) who will care for the baby. Two weeks after the C-Section, Brianna will begin her Chemotherapy. Although this is the most wonderful time of the year, it will be the most busy time of year for the Geddie's. 

A lot of you have asked how I am doing. To be honest, I am pretty tired. I has taken a lot to care for Watson and Brianna, keep the house clean, take care of the meals, attempt to attend as many appointments as I can, work, and all the other many things that I do. In essence I attempt to keep things as "normal" as I can which helps us relax and feel like things will be okay. I know that as difficult as it can feel for me at times, I know that Brianna is having such a harder time and I focus on uplifting and encouraging her. We both continue to keep our heads up and strive to find the peace and happiness we seek. 

To those of you that continually support and lift us up; THANK YOU! We would not be able to do all this without your faith, love and prayers. There have been many near and far that continually find ways to serve our precious family. We will never be able to thank each of you enough but know that we feel your prayers, we feel your strength and we feel your love. Thank you for who you are and for all the many ways you find to serve us. 

A couple of weeks ago, Brianna started loosing some her hair. It has gradually gotten worse as time has gone on. Last week our family had the flu and it was pretty rough. Brianna didn't feel like tending to her hair during that time and after she was feeling better, she asked me to tend to her hair. This was a difficult task as it was extremely messy and as I attempted to clean it all up, handfuls of hair fell out. This was pretty emotional for her but honestly she was just more annoyed with the fact that hair was constantly EVERYWHERE! A week later, she decided that she was done with watching her hair fall out and decided that she had had enough. She asked me to shave her head. I did just that and a little more. She never asked for all of this and shouldn't have to walk alone. I have attempted to be there every step of the way and this is not different so yesterday, we both shaved our heads. Its a bit drafty, but we are loving every minute of it, together. Pics are below :)

As we look back on all that we have been given this Christmas season, we are reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. A Savior was born and through Him and His Atoning Sacrifice, we can overcome this mortal world and return to live eternally with our Father in Heaven. It is easy to look inward but this Christmas season we strive to find ways to serve and find ways to thank Heavenly Father for this gift. Although times are tough right now, we are growing closer as a family and we are becoming more united. We are also each gaining in our testimony and love for the gospel. We testify to each of you that God lives. He knows each of you individually by name because you are His child. He loves you and His desire is that you return to live with Him as a united family. God loves us so much that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, so that we could have a Savior to overcome our shortcomings. It is by and through Him that we can overcome this frail mortal existence and return to live with God. We testify that God has a living prophet on this Earth today and Christ leads His church on the Earth today through Him. We know the Book of Mormon is true and is indeed the word of God. We invite each of you to learn more and read for yourself so you too may know. We know that our Family is Forever and no matter what may come in the future, we will always be together. 

We wish you a Merry Christmas from our Family to yours. May you feel the Love of God this merry season and know how grateful we are for each of you and for who you are. May you know that our lives have been strengthened because of you and we hope that we will be able to pay it forward. Please reach out to me if you have any other questions or would like to know more.

~The Geddie's

And so it begins.....Treatment-Day 1

Well, I haven't posted in a while and most of that is because I kept hoping we would have gotten the final pathology to report out. As of yet, we still don't have the final pathology so we just like all of you just keep waiting. As it has been a while, there are some things that we need to catch up on.

Wednesday November 1, 2017-CHI St. Joseph Cancer Center
For those of you who don't know, I completed my internship for my Master of Health Administration at CHI St. Joseph Health. Shortly after the completion of my internship, I was hired and joined the CHI St. Joseph team. I mention this for two reasons 1) St. Joseph has been working really well with me though all of this. They have been willing to give me time off for all of the appointments and they have all shown a lot of understanding and compassion and that has meant the world to me. I don't think we will ever be able to thank them for everything. 2) The cancer center that Brianna will begin treatment at is with CHI St. Joseph which makes it really nice as I can just walk over from my office for all of the appointments. Anyway, Brianna, my mom and I went to the first appointment with Dr. Scott Goble the Radiation Oncologist. The Cancer Center houses both the chemotherapy and the radiation treatment so we had to find our way to the right desk. Upon completing check in at the registration desk, we waited at a table with a puzzle. We worked on the puzzle for a bit and then we were called back. They took Brianna's blood pressure and weight and then we were taken to a consult room to wait for the doctor. The doctor came in and asked some initial questions like most of the doctors had already and then decided he wanted to perform some physical test. We were taken to another room where Brianna had to change into a gown. He came back in and tested her arm strength and checked the baby and then we headed back to the previous room. The doctor came back in and began discussing treatment. As we didn't have the final pathology, Dr. Goble stated that everything planned was a plan until we knew for sure the report in order to move forward. He stated that Brianna would need the full 6 weeks of treatment. He discussed that the chances that the radiation will harm the baby are very low especially as the tumor is in the brain. However, he decided that in order to be even more precise and give the baby the best chance, they would have Brianna with her chin to her chest for each treatment so that the beams would have minimal opportunity to be directed towards the baby. He informed us that a mask would be created to keep her head in place during each treatment and it would be made at another time. He let us know that Brianna won't lose all of her hair from radiation but she will lose hair where the direct beams are from the path of radiation. We asked what our chances were and he informed us that each case is different and unique and we just need to hope for the best. Brianna was scheduled to come in tomorrow to have her mask designed and set for treatment as well as an MRI and CT scan. He let us know that they would need updated imaging in order to design the best treatment path and create a most probable image of the tumor. After all our questions were answered, Brianna went with my mom to get some food and I went back to work. The next appointment wasn't until 1:30 pm with the medical oncologist so I decided I should go get some more work done.

We met back at the cancer center around 1:30 pm. The radiation oncologist is the doctor that will manage the radiation portion of the treatment. The medical oncologist is the doctor that will manage the chemotherapy portion of the treatment. We met with Dr. Jenkins and he discussed the treatment plan. Brianna would complete 6 weeks of radiation, have four weeks to rest and then start chemotherapy. I say four weeks for rest but she will be having the baby during that time so there won't be much rest involved but she has to have four weeks off of radiation before starting chemotherapy. Dr. Jenkins reminded us that there is only one approved drug for this type of brain cancer and that will be discussed more following completing radiation. He discussed at this time his services wouldn't be needed much until the radiation was completed. We asked the rest of our questions and then we headed out. Brianna headed home and I went back to work.

Thursday November 2, 2017-Cancer Center
Brianna headed to the cancer center to have her mask set. I felt that my services were not needed for the appointment so I stayed at work to begin catching up on my work. Brianna said it didn't take too long to make the mask but it is very tight and very uncomfortable. The good news being that radiation treatment should only last 10-15 minutes each day so she won't have to wear it very long. After the mask setting, she had a CT scan at the office. The MRI however had to be completed at the hospital. She had to come over to the hospital after lunch for the scan. After lunch I went downstairs and met up with Brianna and Debbie who gave her a ride. We talked for a few minutes and then she was called back for her MRI. Following her MRI she went home and rested. As for me, back to work!

Friday November 3, 2017-Sunday November 5, 2017
Brianna had an appointment with the OB-GYN today. This would be the last time that she would be seeing Dr. Rice for a while as she will be taking time off for her delivery! Dr. Rice is due any day now. Brianna also needs to start seeing more specialist regarding her baby and the deliver so she will be switching doctors. Again, I didn't feel that my presence was needed for this appointment as it would be a quick follow up. My mother took Brianna to the appointment. Dr. Rice did some catching up and checked the babies hear beat. In order to transfer care, they obtained all of the paperwork and after all that the appointment was over.  Brianna will be going to see a more in depth OB-GYN doctor and a perinatologist. An appointment has been scheduled for the Perinatologist next Wednesday and the OB-GYN for December 1st although that is likely to change and be sooner. I should be leaving to go hunting with my dad but Brianna and I decided it would be better if I was home for the weekend to help with Watson. It was also decided that we have had so much going on it would be nice to just rest and relax. We worked on getting the house somewhat back in order on Saturday as well as doing some much needed shopping. We mostly rest however as we were all very tired. On Sunday we went to church and felt a breath of fresh air. Following church we went home and all took a nap. Following our nap, the Edmondson's came to visit with us. It was wonderful to spend some time with them. We have served in various church callings recently with them and it was nice to just have them with us. Following their visit, we started cooking dinner as we were having Sam and Angela some friends come over for dinner. We made Venison fried steak, mashed potatoes and a fruit salad. It was a lot of fun having them come over. Following dinner we put Watson down for bed and played some games together. We played a game we have never played called coup. It was a game about lying to each other to win which was a lot of fun. I decided to go ahead and buy it so we could play it some more and get better.

Monday November 6, 2017
We both made dentist appointments as it has been a couple of months and we figured it would be easier now before all of the appointments and radiation. The dentist was wonderful and worked with us well. He goes to our church and just was magnificent. He informed us that he would only be billing insurance and whatever they didn't pay we would not be responsible for. That truly was a blessing and that is why I share this story. We pray for help, we pray for blessings and that was a huge financial blessing for us. We will never be able to thank all of those who help us during this time from financial help, time driving Brianna, the letters, the prayers and all the other amazing acts of service. God is with us because each of you are with us. We continue to be blessed from each and every single one of you. We love you and will never be able to repay the love and service you share with us. We hope that you will know how much we love and appreciate you for all you do for us and we thank our Heavenly Father every day for the angels that He sends us through you. Thank you.

Wednesday November 8, 2017
I feel like I haven't been as useful to Brianna upon our return from the Mayo Clinic. My work is very understanding and would be more than willing to let me go but I feel the tI am not needed at every appointment and thus I make myself available for the most important appointments. I also am a person who wants to work and to do so diligently. That is how I was raised and that is how I continue to live. That being said, Brianna had an appointment with the Perinatologist today. The appointment was in the Woodlands which is about an hour and a half from College Station. As the appointment would last 30 minutes or less with the doctor and it would take all afternoon, it was best that I stay at work. Brianna and my mom took the trip down to the Woodlands without me. It is difficult to make those decisions at times because I want to be with her all the time to help her but I know that one of the ways I help is by having a job. Anyway, my mom and Brianna had a great time at the appointment. She met with the doctor and had an ultra sound and saw our baby boy again. He is already another pound bigger so he is growing perfectly! They performed another 3D ultrasound and both of them loved that! The doctor said baby is doing great and we will continue to monitor as radiation begins and as treatment follows. It was decided that a C-section would be the delivery route for certain and that steroids would be started immediately to mature the lungs for the baby just incase anything happens during treatment. The reason for this is to allow the baby the best chance in case the deliver has been done sooner than expected for any reason. That was very reassuring for us as we want to be prepared for anything that comes our way. Today was a pretty long day and we were all exhausted by the time we got home. I had to pick up Brianna and Watson from my mom and dads and then we needed to go shopping for some food. Following shopping we had to eat dinner and get Watson to bed and the whole routine was later than we like which just makes us even more tired. Overall we are doing okay, just a tiring day today.

Treatment-Day 1 (Thursday November 9, 2017)
We were told that today would just be a simulation where they align all of the lasers for treatment. That is precisely what happened as well as a treatment. Brianna has begun her radiation. We arrived a the cancer center at 11:30 and it was very quick! They took her back, made sure the laser was aligned the way that they liked it and they ran the first treatment. It was very quick. We then went and talked with the doctor. Dr. Goble informed us that everything seemed to be lined up just the way we expected it. She had to put her mask on and lie down for this big massive machine. The door to the room was the thickest door I have ever seen. No one is in the room during the treatment except for Brianna of course. She told me she didn't feel a thing although she did smell a burning smell and I told her that it was her brains being fried! (That isn't totally true). We asked Dr. Goble if everything seemed good and he told us that it did for treatment. He let us know that we just have to wait and see but they were giving Brianna the strongest dose they could and the science and math seemed to show that nothing would really affect our son which was good to hear. He showed us the updated MRI which did show some growth even from two weeks ago. After we had all of our questions answered Brianna headed home and I went back to work. Brianna took a well deserved nap and woke up with a terrible headache. I called the doctors office and they informed us that this would be normal for the first several days of treatment. We were told to have Brianna take some tylenol which she did and she started feeling better. We then received a phone call that Brianna needed to head to the OB-GYN to receive her first shot. My parents picked her and Watson up and I met them at the office. We walked in, got a shot and walked out. It was very fast. She will receive two shots, one today and one tomorrow. She began her daily treatment of radiation today and will be receiving radiation every Monday-Friday at 11:30 am.

Brianna has been informed that she has a Grade III Astrocytoma with a non mutated IDH1 which from what we have been told and informed makes the brain tumor tougher and less likely to respond to treatment. We continue to pray and hope that all will go well. We are amazed at all of the help that people have given us and for the love that is being shared. We have seen a handful of miracles and blessings because of each of you. We have also set it up with friends and family to have someone hr each day with Brianna from 11-1 to help with Watson for lunch and putting him down for a nap. What a wonderful blessing this truly is for Brianna. Again, we are amazed at the love and support we have received.

Brianna's best friend Sadie created a Fund Me page to help us pay all of the medical bills. We thought that was pretty amazing and we hope again that no one feels obligated to donate. We continue to share because we know there are those who keep asking what can they do to donate and that is why we share it. It is likely that we will need $14,000 to pay off all of the bills. We have already reached half of our goal for the funding page in just a week and that has been truly amazing. (Link has been listed below) We know that this is going to be a challenge for us and we continue to remind ourselves that this is not a race but a marathon. Brianna and I continue to put our trust in God. We know that the loves us and although this can seem like a difficult time, "With God, all things are possible". We know that our Family is Forever and we know that no matter what comes our way, we will face this head on as a family. We will never be able to thank each of you and we hope that we will help you learn with us as we continue to keep the faith through this trail.

https://www.youcaring.com/briannaunbornbabyboy-994138

Home Sweet Home

Saturday October 28, 2017- Monday October 30, 2017
Well we don't have much of an update. We left Rochester on Saturday morning and headed to Minneapolis to fly home. Brianna and Watson slept on the drive up. The flight was about 30 minutes late but overall everything went well. All three of us slept the entire flight. When we arrived in Dallas it took about an hour to get all of our gear and get to the truck due to some mix ups. Once we were finally at the truck we had about a 3 hour drive until we were home. After driving for about 30 minutes we decided to stop and get some dinner which put us that much further behind. By the time we were on the road again, it looked like we would get home around 11 pm and indeed we did. It felt so good to be home again. I carefully took Watson inside and changed him and laid him down. His eyes opened, he looked around and smiled as if he knew exactly where he was....Home. It is always a peaceful feeling being home and knowing you are where you are comfortable. It truly is an amazing feeling. When we arrived home, we had a wonderful surprise waiting for us. Our friends Justin and Molly and Derek and Camila had come to our home and decorated with food, notes and encouragement. It was wonderful and we were reminded yet again, that we are not alone and we are loved.

We received some news today that Brianna has Anaplastic Astrocytoma Grade 3. This is a pretty rare and strong brain cancer but we believe she can beat it. She will begin treatment in the next few weeks. She will begin with radiation followed by chemotherapy. We will begin to make appointments with oncologist this week and get things going so we can get ahead of this. We feel your prayers and your strength and we thank you continuously. We know that there is a purpose for everything and we continue to put our trust and faith in God. As we continually put our trust in God, we continue to feel strengthened through this.

Our friend Sadie started a funding page for us. We aren't asking any of you to donate unless you feel a desire. We feel that anything helps whether it be financial or prayers because it all helps us at this time. Our hope is that we continue to keep the faith and we hope that we will continue to learn from each of you as we continue through this journey. Whatever happens, we hope no one feels obligated to donate.

https://www.youcaring.com/briannaunbornbabyboy-994138

On Monday (today), my dad and I scheduled Brianna's appointments for Wednesday morning. Hopefully from there we will have a better understanding of the plan moving forward. She will be meeting with Dr. Goble the Radiation Oncologist. Hopefully we will be able to create a treatment plan and understand what the plan is for Brianna. Although we have some difficult mountains to climb in front of us, we feel hopeful and excited to move forward.

Mayo Clinic-Day 10 and 11 (An Almost Diagnosis)

Mayo Clinic-Day 10 (Thursday October 26, 2017)
I woke up to a text from my beautiful bride. It was nice to hear from her because she was mostly out of it yesterday. She and I texted for a while and then spoke on the phone. She said she was feeling a lot better. She wanted to know how long it would be until I came to see her. Watson and I started getting ready and got the grandparents up and going. It wasn't until 8:30 am when we got to the hospital. For simplicity sake, we left Watson at the hotel with Grandma and Grandpa Geddie. When we arrived, Brianna seemed very excited to see us and she just lit up the room. Brianna told us that Dr. Meyer had already been around to see her and let her know that she would be discharged that morning. Dr. Meyer also told her whether the results from the biopsy came back good, great and if not, she could beat this. He also let her know that if she ever needed anything, she could reach out to him for support. I was again reminded of the great compassion that people have and how the Lord cares for His children in His way, although we may not always recognize it. Often physicians state that patients will be discharged in the morning but it isn't until 3 or 4 pm by the time the patient is discharged. That was what I was expecting, but by 10 am Brianna was walking out the doors with us to return to the hotel. The rest of the day wasn't too eventful as Brianna simply rested most of the afternoon. We went to a Chinese buffet for dinner which was pretty good although it depends on whom you ask. After dinner we put Watson down for bed and went to play some games with our parents. We played the games we played the other night and it was SO much fun. I have never seen our parents laugh so much at one time. It was a true blessing to be with family and feel of their love. My parents fly home tomorrow so they did some light packing. We also have a couple appointments scheduled for the morning so we will be back at the clinic tomorrow.

Mayo Clinic-Day 11 (Thursday October 27, 2017) "An Almost Diagnosis"
We awake a little anxious today as we are still awaiting biopsy results. We spent some tie with Watson in the room before heading down to breakfast. Our first appointment was at 8:15 am and we had a bit to do before heading out. Oh I forgot to mention, we woke up to snow. It was pretty chilly today and the snow was coming down which slowed us down a bit. I helped my parents finish packing and packed up the car as they would leave following our first appointment. With everyone all covered up, we headed out to the clinic. The snow was coming down fast and it felt like we were in Idaho again (where Brianna and I went to school). It took forever to get into the parking garage. We ended up dropping Brianna and moms off so they could head to the appointment while the boys went to park. We got up to the 8th floor and the girls were already back in the room. It wasn't too long after we joined them that the doctor came in the room. We met with Dr. Joon Uhm a Neuro Oncologist. He first explained that we were still awaiting biopsy results but it was important to meet with him. He stated that several colleagues had discussed Brianna case over the last few weeks and were convinced that Brianna had a Glioma. The biopsy results were not in yet but the pathologist had done a frozen sample and at first glance, the biopsy looked like a glioma. There are still many test that needed to be completed in order to have a true understanding of what is going on. He informed us that he feels that this is at least a stage 3 glioma (brain tumor or brain cancer). First, there are some final test that need to be completed but the doctor felt certain that it would be at least stage three but he informed us that staging really doesn't determine the tumor anymore, the genetics do so we still await those results. Second, brain cancer does not normally travel to the rest of the body so that is good. Third, Brianna is young so the brain is not as good of soil at her young age so that may be a pro for her. Now, I know the next question. What about the baby? Well this will truly depend on what the biopsy results come back to tell us. We should know by the end of next week for sure. I say almost diagnosis because we are simply awaiting to know if this is a stage 3 or stage 4 tumor. Moving forward, Brianna will begin radiation therapy in two weeks which is only to allow her surgery site time to heal. She will begin radiation and have 5-6 weeks of treatment. She will then have 4-5 weeks for recovery and then she will begin chemotherapy. There are a lot of details that we still don't know and this plan may change if the results come back as stage 4 because we will need to be a little more aggressive. Again, what does that mean for baby. Dr. Uhm assured us that radiation was almost completely safe for the baby and there should be no affects from radiation. This is good news because that allows the baby to stay in the womb for at least another 10-12 weeks. By then Brianna will be 32-34 weeks and labor can be induced prior to Chemotherapy. This was a big sigh of relief as this will give baby Geddie that much more of a healthy chance. We were informed to start setting things up now even though we don't have results, so the team can be ready as soon as we have the information. We will begin appointments back in College Station as soon as we return. Dr. Uhm answered all of our questions that he could at the time and informed us that he would call once he had more results.

Following the appointment with Dr. Uhm, my parents headed to the airport and we went to go give thanks to Dr. Flanagan for all that he did for us. We really have been taken care of here at the Mayo Clinic and it has mostly been due to Dr. Flanagan. We have been so blessed being under his care and I am thankful that we have had the opportunity to work with him. After our goodbyes we headed back to the hotel. We ate lunch and then we all took naps which were very much needed. Brianna and I packed after our nap while Grandma and Grandpa Turner watched Watson for us. We went to dinner at a pizza buffet and then came back to put Watson down for bed. We then went and played games with Kim and Terry. We all fly back home tomorrow. Although we are flying home with heavy hearts, it has been nice to obtain a diagnosis and be here at the Mayo Clinic. We are so thankful that we came to obtain information so quickly and because of that we can start treatment right away. We will never be able to thank each one of you for your love and support especially moving forward. We recognize this may not have been our hope and prayers but what we do know is that Heavenly Father loves us and sometimes He answers prayers in ways we do not understand. We will continue to pray and we will continue to have hope. We know that our family is forever and that is worth fighting for. I know that Brianna has a lot of fight in her and she is going to beat this. Please if you have any questions or just need to talk, please each out to us. We want you to know that although we may be scared at times, we know we can overcome this. Brianna is the strongest woman that I know. She truly has a heart of gold and she appreciates each one of you as do I. We are going to need help from family and friends moving forward but we know we will be taken care of.

We head home tomorrow and are excited to be in our own home and cope with our emotions back at home. Although Brianna may have been "almost" diagnosed with Brain Cancer, we will beat this. Thank you again for all your love and support and we promise to continue to keep you updated as we gain information. A wise friend once told us that "this disease does not define Brianna. She is still beautiful and she is still Brianna. Brianna can beat this". We hold our heads high and ask you to do the same. May each of us find the strength to find ways to serve others who are in need and we promise to do the same.