Help Brad Petersen Through His Treatment

We made it through his first surgery that was supposed to be an hour and a half but took 3 hours and 45 minutes. I held my breath a lot during hour two, then hour three rolled around, and I got really antsy due to the fact that as we went into surgery, we knew as a family that Brad had a 50/50 chance of losing his left arm and/or a portion of his collarbone during this surgery, so my anxiety was at an all-time high.

At hour 3, his surgeon appeared to tell me Brad did well, and he’s hopeful he got it all.

I asked about his arm; he said it’s fine, we didn’t have any issues!

A huge sigh of relief—not only was my husband okay, but he got to keep his arm.

With that, he would go back in and place his drain tube and close.

Ok, good. Shortly after, Brad’s recovery nurse would call and let me know that he was in recovery and I could see him when they brought him out. Yeah, not sure about that part.

Nonetheless, they brought him to me as I went to get his truck. Brad comes out, looks a little under still, but gets in the truck.

We head home, and of course, he requested ice cream and to stop by his office. So that’s what we did.

I finally get him home and settled in and have to go back for his T3 and my meds.

A few days pass; he has some “shooting pains,” can’t really get comfortable in bed, and is angry at this point. By all rights, he should be. He’s draining nicely, and the wounds are healing nicely. He’s not liking me having to give him a shower as he only has one hand to wash himself, which, as you know, is not easy for a big man like my husband. He’s frustrated that I also have to help him get dressed because, again, he has one arm.

He gets past that and deals with his dressing changes over the next few days and says, “I’m ready to go back to work.” We discuss it, and I agree to let him go back on the Thursday after his surgery if he’s careful and stays out of his shop. He promised he would, so Thursday comes, and he goes back to work, as do I.

The next week would bring three doctor’s appointments and his mom and Connor’s arrival.

Monday he has nothing, but Tuesday through Friday he is seen by three offices.

Tuesday is an MRI of his brain to rule out cancer behind his eyes and another blood draw—all clear there.

Wednesday would bring his post-op with his surgeon. At this appointment, the surgeon looks at his surgery sites and says, “It looks good. Ready for our tube to come out?” Brad looks at him and says, “Ummmm, what?” We decide against the tube removal to prevent drainage into his chest. The surgeon agrees and says, “If you can go three days with zero drainage, we can take it out for you.” Brad happily agrees.

Thursday would bring his next appointment with the ophthalmologist to take a better look behind his eyes and at his eyes. All clear there, thank God!

Friday rolled around, which is today. We see his oncologist for his follow-up and to set a plan for treatment. He looks at Brad and says, “Sir, you had a lot of disease. 59 of your 60 lymph nodes pulled had cancer! I spoke with your surgeon through your surgery.”

My face went blank. I knew the number, but it sank in. We discuss Brad’s treatment plan and what’s next. This is where the doc says, “So we agree (him and the surgeon) that a few rounds of radiation would be appropriate given the amount of cancer you had removed.” Yup, barfed in my mouth, as did his mom. Brad says, “Ok.”

He also says, “You are stage three.” I said, “Thank you for finally staging this thing!” So we will start you on Keytruda infusion in roughly six weeks, allowing time for you to heal more, and then start your radiation.

Ok, as I look over, his mom is getting emotional, and Brad is now mad. Ok, I can deal with all of this. I then ask the doctor, “Is it possible this came from his ears?” Brad is livid as he says, “I’M NOT GOING TO ANY MORE DOCTORS!” The oncologist agrees and says, “Yeah, it’s possible,” so he puts in a referral to an ENT. I say, “Thank you,” and we leave.

So next steps: ENT, immune therapy (infusion), and radiation. It’s going to be a long path we are on, but together we will face any obstacle and beat whatever odds they throw at us. ❤️

We are fundraising to support Brad Petersen's medical expenses and ongoing treatment.