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Mannequin

Mannequin

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
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1,733

My uncle Brian Bischoff of Midland, MI has been battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma since 1998. He has undergone a stem cell transplant and has been in remission multiple times only to be rediagnosed with cancer again. He currently is in intensive care due to complications from the cancer and recent surgical treatment, fighting to breathe with a ventilator. He nearly died this past weekend but was revived. He is really having a rough time, and until his body responds to treatments or his condition changes, nothing else can be done but wait and pray.


Uncle Brian, as well as my aunt and their five children, could use a miracle right now. Please include them in your prayers or take a moment to send a comforting thought their way today. They are all in need of healing and support. Thank you...

 
Such a serious condition, so sad for him and his family. Prayers outgoing.
 
Will definitely be thinking of Brian and his family. Big hugs outgoing!!!
 
Your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
 
Oh man, my heart goes out to all of you. I can only imagine what everyone is going through right now. Big prayers going out for all of you and your uncle Brian.
 
Oh no Equi
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My strongest prayers going out to Uncle Brian, you and your family
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Hang in there sweetie.
 
I''m going to say a prayer for your uncle and his family. I''m so sorry they are going through this.
 
outgoing
God Bless
 
They will absolutely be in my prayers. Thank you for sharing.
 
They will be in my prayers. Hang in there. Hugs.
 
very sad news. hoping for the best.

movie zombie
 
Prayers are flowing for your uncle, his wife, their babies, and for everyone who loves him. Keep the faith!
 
Thoughts and prayers for everyone involved.....
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Thank you so much, everyone. There is so little that can be done for him right now, and prayer is the only way one can help.

Uncle Brian is currently dealing with a kidney infection, a bladder infection, and a gall bladder infection. Of his two lungs, he has pneumonia in the only one that has been working. He had a V-PAP (sp?) machine (exactly what a sleep apnea patient would use) helping him breathe up until yesterday, when he started losing too much lung function and was having trouble getting oxygen through his system to his organs. My aunt was told that there were three options: 1) continue using the V-PAP - this will lead to a downward turn eventually because he was working too hard to breathe, 2) use the V-PAP in conjunction with morphine to ease his pain and keep him more relaxed - same results as first option but slower acting, or 3) sedate him and bring in a ventilator to breathe for him, hopefully allowing him to rest his body and buy time for the antibiotics to kick in and address the pneumonia in the lungs. Choice 3 was the only choice that my aunt and the kids would accept.

My mother was there with him when the decision was made to go to the ventilator yesterday afternoon. Brian was not able to talk to anyone, but he did write some notes to his 5 children (ages 24 through 12) and my aunt and my mother and grandmother, all of whom were able to be there at his side once they rounded up the middle son. He wanted to see all of his kids before they sedated him. I am terribly worried that that may have been the last time my cousins will see him awake. I''ve been feeling so helpless throughout this latest sad turn, much like all of them. All I can do is pray and wait to hear any news. I did not hear anything from my mother or grandmother today, and my heart shot to my throat any time my cell phone rang. My uncle just turned 50 years old last month and it is so unfair that he can''t have 50 more years with his family. None of them deserve this misery.
 
Hopefully his body will get a much needed chance to rest since it seems he is working so hard to breathe and his body can now go to work on fighting those infections with the antibiotics. So young. Thank goodness he got to speak to all of his children before he was sedated. My prayers are still outgoing to you. It''s tragic.
 
My heart was so heavy with sadness when I read your posts. I''m so sorry your Uncle Brian and his family are going through this. Nothing challenges the human spirit more than serious illness such as this. I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers!
 
My Family''s thoughts and prayer''s go out to your Uncle Brian in his FIGHT...!
 
Hi equestrienne ~
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You and your family have been in my prayers ... I just wasn''t able to post.

I was wondering how is your Uncle Brian doing?

I have seen first hand how a ventilator can help the body rest, and buy much needed time to battle infection.

I am so sorry, and my heart aches at the thought of what you and your family is going thru.

Much needed
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prayers
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of healing, strength and lots of love going your family''s way!

Keep us posted, I hope to hear some good news with Uncle Brian.

Take care,
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Thank you all again for your kindness. Unfortunately, I have nothing optimistic or improved to report on my uncle''s condition. His prognosis is still very poor and he seems to be showing signs of the respiratory failure that many lymphoma patients experience in their end stages. I have heard that the pneumonia suspected in the only working lung may not be present after all and that he may be bleeding there instead due to tumors. Either way, his body is so fragile that should he stop breathing, he cannot be resuscitated with chest compressions because his ribs could splinter and puncture his lungs and heart. He also seems to be losing kidney function. I fear he may not survive the week. I am going to visit tomorrow with my family at the hospital. Though he is in a drug-induced coma to allow for the ventilator, he can hear and does respond to the voices in the room with an increased heart rate. It is a comfort to know that we can still talk to him and be there for him, even if all other efforts are failed. Prayers and warm thoughts are always still welcome for this man and his family.
 
prayers continue
 
Still thinking about you guys...
 
I visited the hospital in Midland today and spent a few hours with my uncle and our family. Brian looks less jaundiced today, but still is dealing with a lot of serious issues. His limbs are still very swollen but I am told that he is looking better today than he was in the last few days. Still experiencing a rash and still having trouble with organ function, but no signs of sepsis at this time. He was responding to our voices and trying to wake up, but he would become very incomfortable and looked stressed over the ventilator tube. He was given some injections of medicines to reduce his pain and his agitation. They have been gradually taking him off of the medicine that induces the coma in order to try and get him to breathe on his own and not with the ventilator. They reduce the amount of "help" he is getting from the machine and make sure that he stabilizes and then reduce again later.

Unfortunately, I feel that if he is allowed to be off the ventilator, one crisis averted is only going to buy time until something else fails. False hopes are better than no hope at all, but are certainly damaging in the end. The only lung that he can breathe with is already known to be full of tumors. His cancer was still categorized as aggressive and has not been addressed in the last few weeks because his other health problems have caused the doctors to focus on keeping him alive and treating his infections. Some of the cancer symptoms seem to be changing, possibly due to increased immune system response, but the respiratory system''s function is still compromised. What happens in the next day or so will be very telling as to what path his immediate family should seek to take in regards to his care. If his doctors take away the option of removing the ventilator, Brian will be very hard-pressed to return home anytime soon.

I just wish that something would happen, one way or another, so that my uncle does not have to struggle and so my family can be relieved of this constant painful rollercoaster ride of emotions. My cousins are supposed to start school this week and today my grandmother was trying to help Brian''s youngest buy her back-to-school supplies for her first year at middle school. It is so wrong and unfair that she couldn''t have had her daddy help her. I want Aunt Joan to be able to sleep in her own bed for once, even if it''s a brief rest. My aunt has already been at that hospital long enough. Save a few quick trips home here and there to shower or grab a change of clothes, my aunt has been at the hospital with Uncle Brian for five and a half weeks. She does not leave his side for long, and only then when other family members are around to be with him. Grandparents and other relatives have been helping this group hold together and stay afloat, but I think they are starting to feel the strain. You pray and pray and pray some more, and even when you think that you are done crying there are more tears the next moment. I can''t sleep well and I feel guilty that there is nothing more that I can do other than support my aunt and cousins as best as I can.
 
Equi, still sending out prayers and good thoughts. I know how hard this must be, try to get some rest and take care of yourself. Have a cuddle with Chance and Luke if you can, you know how horses have this ability to heal the souls of their owners. Hugs to you.
 
Prayers and peace during the very difficult season
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I visited Midland again last Thursday. My mother wanted to go and visit and I refused to let her go alone because I know how hard it is for her to see Brian and not be able to help him. We both felt that being there that day was like being in a nightmare you can''t wake up from. Neurologist reports and MRIs confirmed that my uncle suffered a stroke sometime between the introduction of the ventilator and that day. This stroke left him with some limited use of his motor skills, but also affected his vision. He has lost all sight in one eye and has also suffered a loss of vision in the other eye. They were still trying to wean him off the ventilator to help him breathe on his own, but every time the medicines would wear off, his vitals would destabilize and he would get very agitated. His edema was inbelievably advanced from when we had last seen him and his stomach and bowels were not issuing sounds at all. His blood counts related to liver function were AWFUL, and he still has an infected gall bladder that should be removed. Still no cancer treatment.Things looked bleak, and with his family hanging desperately to any shreds of hope and wanting to try everything possible to help Brian, it was a very sad and frustrating place to be.

Fast forward to this weekend. My uncle''s edema has gone down and the swelling has also reduced in his brain, which is allowing him some movement, though limited. His ventilator has been turned off multiple times for upwards of a half hour, sometimes with little or no distress, so he has been doing some breathing on his own. This of course is fabulous news, and we are happy for his progress but are still guarded in our optimism. His skin, on the verge of separating when the edema was really bad, has gotten a little better overall, but he is developing sores on his back from lying in one place for so long. He still has organs that are showing little or no function, and he is now a stroke victim as well as a cancer patient. I believe a family conference is in the works for Monday with as many of Brian''s doctors as can be rounded up, so that all the cards can be placed on the table for my aunt and cousins. They''ve only been seeing one hand at a time. This conference should help all of them decide how to move forward from here. Still praying hard here...
 
Prayers still outgoing Equi. That is so great to hear he is more comfortable.
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Thanks for the update.
 
Hi Equestrienne ~
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I am sorry for your pain and sadness that you and your family are feeling.

Your Uncle Brian is battling Cancer, and with it ... other medical hardships.

I pray for your Aunt ... to give her continued strength to be by her dear husbands side to reassure him of his greatness and that his love will be everlasting in her and their childrens hearts. I pray that she can be surrounded by others to lean on, during her time of great need.

I pray for the children ... May god surround them with his loving arms and comfort them during this time of uncertainty, and to ease their heartache.

I continue to pray for your Uncle Brian. I pray that he can be pain free during this most difficult time of his life. I do hope and pray that it is God''s will for him to recover.

Please take care and keep us posted.

Hugs to you ...
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Thank you all for your continued support. It means a lot to me and to my family.
 
I am very late chiming in but wanted you to know my prayers and best wishes go out to you and your whole family. I pray your Uncle Brian can beat this. I know how hard this must be for everyone... HUGS!!!
 
Equi, how is Brian doing?
 
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