Casa Huppert 2.0

It's excruciatingly hard to follow your heart and instincts versus letting doctors and statistics guide your path when facing the hardships of disease. I am by no means an expert, I just know what I see. Brent is so frail. I would be surprised if he weighs 130 pounds soaking wet. He no longer has the energy to stand or even pull himself up in bed. His mind just goes in circles most of the time. The pneumonia is in both his lungs. His body is septic, so treatment is no longer an option. We truly need a miracle for Brent to get past this. My husband is absolutely amazing and will never ever give up! His faith and positivity never waivers. We all believe God is in the miracle business. I have let go and understand that God has been and will continue to illuminate our path. Brent, the boys and I are so insanely lucky. We have the most phenomenal support system any four people could ever hope or ask for. We love you all so very much ❤ I believe all our prayers and positivity are m...

After we found out Brent couldn't do chemo last week, he started getting a bit of momentum on the nutritional front. We started introducing more foods and liquids to get him more calories. There were unfortunately no improvements in his strength. Starting yesterday he had zero energy and was barely eating again. Long story short we are back at SkyRidge. Brent has pneumonia. This mama is tired, frustrated and having a hard time. Unfortunately, the boys and I are not feeling our best. Cristian has strep, I have a sore  throat and Nico was okay, but now feeling the crud after his soccer practice. I tested negative, but will get confirmation tomorrow regarding my backup test for strep. We will also take Nico to get tested tomorrow. I pray that all of us get some healing the next few days. We have no idea what the next steps will be for Brent. Please send positive vibes and prayers to give us all the strength we need. Your kind gestures and messages continue to give us the motivation ...

The past few weeks I've been laser focused on Brent's nutrition. There have been good days and bad. Today was not a good day. We received the news that Brent's blood counts are too low for him to receive chemo tomorrow. His treatment is delayed until January 30th. It's so ridiculously hard to stay positive, but it's what I have to do. I leave this in God's hands. Thank you family for lifting me up in prayer when I am weak. I push forward knowing Brent will never give up. I choose to see all the good around us. My work family is absolutely amazing! Our entire village is simply the best. Your continued acts of kindness energize us and remind us how much good there is in this world. Thank you all again and again! Helping Casa Huppert Kick Cancer

January has unfortunately been more eventful than I hoped. We have been back in the ER three times. On a positive note we are moving and shaking on the home front. An in home care team came to visit us. The doctor and nurse helped us set up Brent's medications, and will access his port, so I can give him fluids at home. They will provide ongoing support once a week until we can get him back on track. Among other things we also have a physical therapist coming to the house once a week to get him stronger. He's lost so much weight that he's become very weak. Yesterday I made the decision to take time off of work and concentrate on Brent's nutrition. I believe it's the best decision for our family. It's going to be extremely hard to get him past this portion of his journey, but I believe it will happen.  None of the above would have been possible without both our immediate families. Barb (Brent's mom) and I have become a united front. I thank my lucky s...

Brent was discharged from Sky Ridge yesterday. We are all so happy to have him home. He seems to be in better spirits already. His blood counts have stabilized and he is back to his fight. Monday is round two of his new chemo regimen. Our biggest challenge at the moment is his nutrition. We want him to be as strong as possible for Monday. I believe he will be back on track in no time. While Brent's stubbornness stresses me out, I know it's why he is so resilient. He keeps taking it all in stride. He is my hero. This holiday break was nothing like we anticipated, but it showed me in more ways how phenomenal our village is. We love each and every one of you. I know we could never do this without you. Please pray or send out positive vibes that this round of chemo goes as smoothly as possible. I will be praying that this new regimen provides healing and showers us with even more hope and belief. We can never thank you enough for your kind gestures and messages of l...

Sitting here reflecting on the past year, there are so many emotions. While 2019 broke our hearts, we were also introduced to Europe. We had the time of our lives in London and Barcelona. We got to see Suarez and Messi score goals at a Barcelona match, our favorite moment of 2019. Brent had such success during his first clinical trail. I know we will get back to that. Brent's blood counts stabilized and doctors ascertained that he is bleeding from his stomach. Yesterday they performed an endoscopy which determined the bleeding is coming from the cancer itself. He still has a lot of clotting in his leg, also caused by the cancer. In order to prevent large clots getting to his lungs, they placed an IVC filter in his main artery. They need to ensure there isn't any more damage to his heart. In addition, they also placed a catheter in his belly so he can drain the ascites fluid buildup himself. There is risk of bleeding and infection every time he gets a paracentesis. The hope is...

Brent was finally moved out of the ICU yesterday. We are so thankful his pulmonary embolism was caught. However, understand it will take time for him to recover. Our biggest challenge at the moment are his blood counts. His hemoglobin counts have decreased from 12 to somewhere in the 9's. If his counts decrease to the 7's he will need a blood transfusion. There are so many moving parts, it's hard to keep track of everything. I try to focus on one thing at a time. As Brent told me, we will get past this. While it's incredibly hard to see any silver lining in all this, I have to. I am encouraged by how much Brent is eating and drinking. He's no longer on IV fluids and staying hydrated. I  have found that advocating for Brent and our kids gives me a sense of peace among all this chaos. All your acts of kindness continue to restore my faith in humanity. I can not thank you all enough. You keep putting smiles on all our faces each and every day. Today I ask for pra...