Brandy’s Battle: A Thank You And An Update

When I first came up with doing a fundraiser for Brandy, I hoped it would work. I hoped people would donate. I hoped the interwebz would embrace her and this cause and not turn against it as I have seen happen so many times before.

Well, it has far exceeded my expectations. The amount of love and support I have seen poured out for my dear friend has AMAZED me. In less than 24 hours we raised nearly $1000 in cash {All sent directly to Brandy’s PayPal} and gotten so many yeses from companies wanting to donate products and services to this auction it has made my head spin {and my fingers a bit swollen from typing :P}. I have to give a huge shout out to Leah (BookieBoo) who is a freaking mega rock star when it comes to getting a company’s attention. From her efforts alone, the donations are pouring in! Leah is a true force of nature.

I also need to thank every single person who emailed me to offer a product for the auction, to pitch companies and who brought in amazing items to be auctioned off. All because of our shared love and admiration for one StitchBlade aka Not So Average Mama aka Brandy. This woman is truly amazing. She deserves nothing less than all the love and support that she is receiving now. This blogging community of ours is truly a force in and of itself when we get behind a cause. And what better cause than one benefiting one of our own? I believe that this outpouring of love and support is not just because Brandy is a blogger, but because she is a human being going through something any one of us could be going through  right now. The generosity and huge hearts of the people I have come into contact with because I simply wanted to help my friend has me awestruck.

You are, all of you, quite simply, awesome. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

Now for an update on our Brandy…

Yesterday morning, she and her Mom went to Denton Presbyterian Hospital ER to try and get her some real treatment. And aside  from Nurse Ratched, the Triage Nurse from Hell, Brandy told me by phone that she has been treated wonderfully. After she was finally called back, she was given an X-Ray and an ultrasound. It seems that Spike {Yes, she named her tumor. Did you expect anything less from her?}, is a big bugger, measuring in at 20 cm X 20 cm X 24 cm {That’s approximately 8 in X 8 in X 9 in, for those who don’t do the metric system}!! He is sort of an oblong volley ball shape and is situated from the top of her uterus to just below her sternum. Of course the doctors will not be able to tell where he originated from until they get in there to cut him out. At that time they will begin the determination of whether or not his nasty butt is cancerous or not. I am happy to report that at 6 am CST, May 20, 2010, his annoying ass will be removed from Brandy’s abdominal cavity!! Yes, she found a hospital that believes that the patients are the priority, not their ability to pay.

I asked her to see if she could get a picture of Spike. She didn’t like that idea. But she did want to put up a poll and have people guess what the weight of her non-pregnancy, non-baby will be. I say 10 lbs. We’ll see if I’m close. 😛

I also had a very interesting chat conversation with Brandy last night after she was admitted and put in a room.

Brandy: She gave me a sleepy pill. I love it.  There is weirdness amongst this room

Me: OK what weirdness?

Brandy: I think there are people there that are weird

Me: It happens

Brandy: They are distracting me from my pain

Me: Sucks that you don’t have a private room. Maybe tomorrow after the surgery

Brandy: Oh I have a private room

Me: Hey you can give me stories for The Free Range Stupid: Hospital Edition. ROTFLMAO

You did get a private room? Oh very nice

Brandy: It looks like Vikings

Me: What on the wall?

Brandy: No I seen them, they move fast though

Me: LOL Hunny, I think you might be HIGH. You got good drugs. LMAO

The conversation continued on the phone and she told me that she felt like the Vikings were running behind her head {I doubt she will remember this conversation, but I was laughing so hard, I was crying. I love this girl!}. Yes, my friends, our dear Brandy does not lose her humor even in the face of  serious illness. OK, it wasn’t exactly her sense of humor, it was more like she was given some really good drugs in that IV and she was having a visual hallucination from them. BUT the fact that she saw Vikings? Yeah that would only come from Brandy’s mind. I’m telling y’all, this girl is awesome.

We need to get her a Viking helmet now. Anyone know where I can find a cool one?

I am still taking product donations for the auction, so if you have one, think you can get one or just want to help out in some way, please email me. And please continue to spread the word about Brandy’s Battle. You can make a cash donation here and it will go directly into Brandy’s personal PayPal account. Yes, she is getting Spike removed today, but she still has to pay for this and the gynecologist who is performing the surgery said that if this is cancer or if the bugger is more attached than they think, she will need another surgery. This isn’t going to be cheap, kids. Not by a long shot. So my goal is to make her as much money as I possibly can to help defer the cost of her medical care. I am praying for a miracle. I think we might actually get one. I have great faith in the power of prayer and people coming together for a common good.

I would also like to stress that Brandy does not want any media contacted right now. If that decision is ever made, her family will make the call. Please respect her wishes and the privacy of her family.

Tags: Auction, Brandy's Battle, Fundraiser

Category: Cervical Cancer, My Opinions