Financial Aid for Brandon Bergman

Hi, my name is Jeanne and I'm fundraising for our beloved friend and coworker Brandon Bergman. He's in the ICU at Ochsner undergoing emergency brain surgery today (7/26) to remove a mass that is pressing on his pituitary gland. They discovered this tumorous mass in his brain that is causing swelling, vision loss, tremendous pain, and bleeding out. (The pain was so great it felt like food poisoning as it was making him vomit.)

He will likely be in recovery at the hospital for a couple of days after the operation. The surgery is going to be more invasive than originally thought, lengthening recovery time and still restoration of vision is the Doctor's chief concern.

Brandon unfortunately doesn't have medical insurance and will need immediate financial support to cover his personal expenses. We are putting our heads together (friends, family and coworkers) as quickly as possible to help our friend through this traumatic event.

UPDATE!

“Just received word from the hospital that Brandon Bergman is out of surgery and in the ICU recovering. The Doctors were worried about the tumor and its effects on his optic nerve. The tumor was causing it to bow, which caused a substantial amount of vision loss. But they said that as they removed the tumor they could see it going back into its proper position, so they were very happy to relay that information as it's very promising news! As I mentioned in the previous post, his surgery was more invasive than planned, they did have to open his cranium, so it's likely he'll be under heavy PK's and sedatives for the next couple of days, otherwise I'm sure he'd appreciate visitors. But I'll post when his progress. His Mom and BF Bobbie Steve are flying in tomorrow, I'm picking them up from the airport and bringing them to see him right away.“. —Aaron

UPDATE!

Brandon Bergman is up and talking and in a pretty upbeat mood despite concerns about his vision not yet returning. He said "I've been struck blind like that bitch Mary from Little House on the prairie", LOL. But he yearns for connection and would love visitors and prayers to St. Anthony. Or if you can't make it and want to send well wishes, leave a comment below as he asked me to read the encouraging words others have shared on previous posts, I will be sure to pass them along. But he is in Ochsner Jefferson west tower, floor 9, room 9094. It's likely there's only one person in the room at a time as it's 3 max and Bobby and his Mom remain by his side. But he's up and moving and making jokes! -Aaron

UPDATE 8/2

Just received a call from the hospital, Brandon Bergman has been moved into a "step down unit", Rm. 924. So it's official, he's out of the ICU. His vision is still gone and doctor's say it could be anywhere between 6 weeks and 6 months to see any improvement. Despite the full blindness only being in the 24-36 hours prior to his surgery, the tumor existed for a while and the pressure on the optic nerve was there for quite some time they say. I'm taking that as a small improvement over the previous assessment that "his sight may never come back". —Aaron