Brannon Thomas

Brannon Thomas - Journal

Read Entries & Updates

Posted 2014-04-16T03:29:20Z

Update

Hi everyone,
Wanted to give a brief update on Z's status and latest health news.
After getting good news of a "no tumor" biopsy result in February, Z has continued to work hard on his recovery, however the past few weeks have been very rough.
His left sided weakness and vision have been worsening and it has resulted in a state of almost complete exhaustion for Z, which climaxed in a gran mal seizure last weekend- his first in almost 8 months.
He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, and the seizure definitely amplified his symptoms and worsening physical state. Docs believe that dehydration and exhaustion likely caused the seizure, but his condition was at a point that they did not feel comfortable discharging him home. Instead, his team of Neuro doctors and therapists at Johns Hopkins pushed to have him admitted directly to their inpatient neuro rehabilitation unit so that he could get the attention and intensive therapy that he truly needs. It is a phenomenal program with some of the top docs and therapists in the country, and they are actively working together to help Z regain his strength, while also continuing to solve the puzzle of "why" this is happening. There are different theories circulating in the absence of tumor cells about a possible neoplastic syndrome, or an un-identified autoimmune response, but the frustrating bottom line is that some of the smartest neuro doctors in the world cannot explain the mystery of Z's condition. We were told that undiscovered antibodies are found every four months in the complicated neuro-immunology field, and it's possible that there is something completely unstudied happening with Z's brain. In some ways, the mystery offers hope that they will be able to solve the puzzle, as opposed to some of the disheartening diagnoses that they believed were happening all along. Doctors are encouraged and awed by the resilience of Z's brain and body- he is truly amazing![...]

Read more... Read more...

Dani Collins 0 Comments

Welcome to the Brannon Thomas support family! This site is for family and friends, old and new, to organize our efforts to support this extraordinary person. This page will serve as your home base for rallying the troops, receiving updates , and raising dearly needed funds to support Brannon Thomas. Here's the plan:

Your First Step: Please take 30 seconds to click on the "Follow" button on the top right of this page. This will allow you to receive updates, read journal entries, make donations, share Brannon Thomas’s story on social media, and help the family with week-to-week calendaring needs. Though not mandatory to follow Brannon Thomas’s page, we encourage you to easily create an account with your name and email in order to be able to post photos, leave comments and sign up as a helping hand on the Calendar page. Feel free to upload a photo of yourself to your profile so we can get to know and recognize others on Brannon Thomas’s support team. After clicking “Follow” above, read on to learn more about what you can do to help.

Journal: This tab is where you can read the latest entries posted for Brannon Thomas and our support team. You may see additional authors writing updates here to help alleviate pressure for Brannon Thomas and expedite information sharing. Each post is followed by a photo and name of the author of the entry. You can reply with supportive comments to any journal entry, or click on the name of its author to send a private message.

Posts: This is where you can leave an encouraging message for Brannon Thomas and family, and to read thoughts left by others! If you have something pressing you'd like suggest that everyone sees (e.g. a fundraiser or upcoming event you're spearheading), please don't hesitate to contact us via private message so we can consider sharing it more widely in the Journal sections. There will undoubtedly be many coordinated efforts and events ahead, and we want to make certain they’re organized and publicized through this site to help drive the greatest possible impact.

Calendar: Please see this important section to learn what the family needs NOW. This will be an especially helpful section for locals in close proximity to Brannon Thomas. This is an up-to-date calendar which will list the family's immediate needs such as child-care, rides, and meals to help most in the short term. If you see a need posted and can fill it, please sign up through the calendar page directly (i.e. not through private communication) to let us and others know that you've committed to that need. Please check back often to help out with the most recently posted needs!

Donations: The very most impactful way to help Brannon Thomas’s is to make a direct donation right now. After insurance participation, bills and related costs are expected to reach several thousand dollars. This fund will be used at the sole discretion of Brannon Thomas and family to help manage all related expenses, and will give them the flexibility to take time off work as needed to directly support Brannon Thomas’s. Donations can be made securely using credit or debit card for any amount. PostHope.org generously makes these donations free of any fees. All donations, large and small, come with the eternal gratitude. Thank you for your generosity in considering what amount you are personally able to give.

Perhaps more importantly, you will also find the tools to share your donation and Brannon Thomas’s story with friends and family via Facebook and social media. After donating, please click the social media buttons to share far, wide, publicly and OFTEN! We believe that many kind strangers online will feel moved by Brannon Thomas’s journey.

Notifications: After clicking “Follow” above, you’ll then see a tab to manage “Notifications”. If you feel you’re receiving too many or too few email notifications, please check this section to tailor notifications to your areas of interest. For example, if you want to receive journal updates but not new calendar posts, or any combination of notifications from this site, you can do set them to your preference this section.

Don’t Forget! If you haven’t done so already, please click “Follow” on the top right. It’s your very next step to showing your support!

Love,