Help Mindy Stay Beside Brandon While He Fights Leukemia

My sister has spent this week wondering whether the love of her life would survive another hour. Brandon died three times, survived a catastrophic medical emergency, and is now beginning another fight after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She needs help staying beside him while he fights.

Mindy has barely left Brandon’s bedside. But she is self-employed, and every hour she spends at the hospital is an hour she cannot work to cover their mortgage, groceries, utilities, transportation, and the mounting costs of what may be months of cancer treatment and recovery.

This nightmare began when Brandon’s health rapidly declined and his blood counts became dangerously low. While doctors were searching for answers, his spleen suddenly ruptured, causing catastrophic internal bleeding. He went into cardiac arrest, was rushed into emergency surgery, and died three times. His medical team fought relentlessly to save him, replacing an extraordinary amount of blood while trying to control the bleeding and keep his organs functioning. Against incredible odds, Brandon survived.

He spent several days on life support while his body recovered from the trauma. Then came one of the most beautiful victories our family could have hoped for: Brandon was extubated and began breathing on his own. He opened his eyes, recognized Mindy, reached for her, and wrote shaky little notes telling her, I LOVE YOU and DON’T EVER LEAVE ME ALONE.

For a few precious hours, it finally felt like our family could breathe again. Then oncology walked in.

The results of Brandon’s bone marrow biopsy confirmed that he has Acute Myeloid Leukemia, or AML. Now the road ahead has changed completely. Brandon will require specialized cancer treatment, chemotherapy, continued hospitalization, rehabilitation, and extensive medical care. What we first hoped might be a few weeks of recovery is now likely to become a journey measured in months.

Through all of this, Mindy wants to keep one promise: she wants to stay beside him. She wants to be there when he wakes up, hold his hand through chemotherapy, advocate for him when he is too weak to advocate for himself, help him regain his strength, and be there when the day finally comes that they can walk out of the hospital together.

But life outside those hospital walls keeps moving. The mortgage still has to be paid. Groceries still have to be bought. Gas still has to get her back and forth to the hospital. Utilities, household expenses, and medical costs continue to arrive even while their entire world has been turned upside down.

Mindy is someone who has always worked hard and taken care of her family. Asking for financial help does not come naturally to her. But right now, my sister needs help.

Many people have lovingly asked, How can we help? This is how.

Every donation, whether it is $5, $20, $100, or more, gives Mindy something far greater than money. It gives her time. Time beside her husband. Time she does not have to spend wondering whether she needs to leave the hospital to work. Time to focus on Brandon’s healing instead of worrying about how they will keep their household afloat while he fights cancer.

If you are unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser and continuing to pray for Brandon would mean more than we can express. Our family has already watched Brandon survive what seemed impossible. Now we are asking our village to help carry them through the next battle.

Please help give Mindy the freedom to stay exactly where Brandon has asked her to be: beside him.

Thank you for loving this family, for praying for Brandon, and for showing up when they need it most.