Brandon LOVED hockey. The first of January 2007 he was on the ice for several hours over one weekend and developed a muscle pull in his left leg. A few days later it hurt so bad that he could hardly skate or walk. We thought he pulled his groin muscle. I took him to his doctor and she confirmed that it was a pulled groin. He took a break from hockey for two and a half weeks and went to physical therapy three times a week. He wanted back on the ice so bad that he told "everyone" that his leg felt much better. He returned to the ice and played pretty well. The next week at practice his pain started to show again. It was explained to Brandon that he could further damage his groin if he continues to skate… he insisted on playing hockey.
As the days went by Brandon's skating ability became slower and he started to walk with an obvious limp. I then decided to take him to an Orthopedic Surgeon (Dr. Sauchak) for a second opinion. Dr. Sauchak ordered an MRI looking for a hip fracture on February 21, 2007 and that is when the tumor was found in his femur. Dr. Sauchak set Brandon up with Dr. Irwin, a limb salvage surgeon in Detroit. Dr. Irwin did a biopsy on March 1, 2007 and the cancer was identified as Osteosarcoma.
Brandon had every test that can possible be done in preparation for the chemotherapy. On March 5, 2007 he was admitted to Sparrow Hospital and on March 6th they discovered the cancer has spread to both lungs. The first chemo started on March 7th and he received inpatient chemo at Sparrow until the end of October 2007. His femur was removed and replaced with a metal rod on May 23, 2007, dislocated on June 9th and he received a total hip replacement on June 10th.
Brandon was NED (no evidence of disease) November 2007 and was receiving weekly Interferon injections from the first of November to February 20, 2008.
New tumors in his left lung, as well as nodules in the right side were discovered exactly one year from the first tumor – February 21, 2008.
March 2, 2008 – Right Lung Thorocotomy
March 31, 2008 – Left Lung Thorocotomy & Lymph node removal (left leg)
April 17, 2008 – Left Lung Repair
April 2008 - Brandon once again was declared NED. He was put on a new protocol (GM-CSF) in March 2008 and it was suppose to end in October 2008.
New tumors in both lungs were found in June 2008. Round three begins...
July 8, 2008 - New tumors on his trachea & inner pleura were found at MD Anderson.
July 9, 2008 – Ifos/Mesna chemo started at MD Anderson in Texas.
October 2, 2008 – Open biopsy emergency surgery left leg (Mt. Clemens/Dr. Irwin) - no cancer!
Six rounds of Ifos completed 11-11-08.
12/1/08 - 1/6/09 – 10 days of radiation w/2 rounds high dose Methotrexate at MD Anderson, LMTP-PE started.
January 13, 2009 – seizures lead to an MRI where a tumor was discovered in the brain. PET can showed several other tumors throughout Brandon's body.
January 16, 2009 – Brain surgery - tumor removed (Osteosarcoma) – DeVos Hospital
January 25, 2009 – started ITA treatment: TEM - Temodar, IRINO- Irinotecan & AV - Avastin at DeVos Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
February 15, 2009 – admitted to DeVos for trouble breathing and chest pain.
February 19, 2009 – Thorocotomy biopsy right lung (Osteosarcoma found inside and outside surrounding both lungs).
I made several journal entries on www.caringbridge.org/visit/brandongordon throughout Brandon’s entire treatment for friends and family to stay informed. Brandon absorbed all of this devastating news, battled obstacle after obstacle, and always maintained a positive attitude… from the first day he was diagnosis with cancer. He was backed by a tremendous amount of support and knowing the network of people pulling for him made him even more determined to conquer his battle with cancer. Unfortunately even with the utmost strength and will the journey came to an end on February 22, 2009. His last breath was at 12:22 p.m. and his last heart beat was recorded at 12:25 p.m. Brandon was born December 22, 1992. B/B.G./Brandon/Gordie #22 made a huge mark on this earth and will always remain in many, many hearts.
Forever B’s Mom
