The Rowbotham Family

Brandy is a young woman who went to the doctor for stomach pain early this year. That routine visit changed the trajectory of not only her life, but her family's lives. During that visit, they ordered an x-ray, that x-ray showed a small nodule on her left lung. The mass was concerning enough her doctor sent her for a PET scan to check for cancer. The mass on her lung had actually shrunk between the initial visit and the PET scan, but the scan did show two masses on her thyroid. The thyroid masses were biopsied, and one came back as malignant (cancer).

Upon hearing her diagnosis, Brandy actually comforted everyone around her, never waivering in her faith or her belief that the cancer was found through divine intervention to catch it early and at a treatable stage. She was correct. She had to have her thyroid removed, but the doctor believed based upon blood work that the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes so the surgery would be all that was needed.

Once again this disease threw a curve ball, and when in surgery, the surgeon found cancer in her lymph nodes so she had a central throat dissection as well as her thyroidectomy. She still showed her true grit as she was able to go home that same day, with a drain tube, and recover at home. About six weeks after that surgery, Brandy had to undergo an intense dose of radioactive iodine. If you aren't familiar with that, it is a pill form of radioactive iodine that Brandy had to administer to herself, then she became nuclear (SHE became the source of radiation) and had to seclude from everyone she loves for five days until her follow up scan.

The follow up scan showed that the radiation attached itself to any remaining cancer cells and it looks like she should be clear. She will have a follow up scan in a year to make sure she is indeed cancer free.

All of that in itself is enough to get anyone down and feeling sorry for themselves, but not Brandy. If you have met  her you know she has never met a stranger. She treats everyone with kindness, courtesy, and respect. She has a smile for everyone and when anyone asks how she is or what she needs, she always puts herself last. Her family is her most prized possession in the entire world. She has a wonderful husband, three amazing children, and three grandchildren that are her entire world. 

The time off work, medical bills, and loss of income have put Brandy in a bind where she may face losing her house, vehicle, or both. For someone that never asks for help and is always the first to help everyone, she could use some financial assistance at this point in her life.