Video -Updated/Revised

I made some volume & info revisions per the request of others who would like to share this video. Please feel free to share it!!
Thanks,
Whitney
What a difference a year makes (REVISED)

Nothing is Impossible

Click HERE 
to see a great video of Forester.  I think you'll like it.
And if YouTube is giving you a hard time (not loading and playing the video) give it a minute and retry.  Not as fun to watch if it keeps starting and stopping.  If I could figure out how to put the video directly in the post I would.  Still learning...

Whitney

*I'm having trouble getting this post to go out to sunscribers so I'm re-posting. Hope it works cause I have no idea why it isn't!

It's a great day for good news!

I just got the most amazing text message from my husband and I can't stop crying and just saying "PRAISE YOU JESUS"!
Forester & Pete have been at the hospital today getting Forester's blood counts checked and also a hearing test. This is what the text said: Big IMPROVEMENT in Forester's hearing since his last test in Dec. The audiologist said to me four times, "I can't explain it. This is the opposite of what I expected to see and there's no medical explanation for it. This is amazing!"

God is healing Forester and HE is AMAZING!!  If you remember several months back I was very discouraged about Forester's hearing loss because I had prayed so hard and really believed that God was going to spare him from that. Please re-read that post here!  Leave it to my amazing and all powerful and all knowing Father God to do something that can't be explained by medicine and only be described as amazing and miraculous! And, it's documented!  That's the kind of God he is!!  We are thanking Him and full of joy and couldn't wait to tell you.  GIVE HIM PRAISE, YA'LL!!!

Love,
Whitney

The LAST Day

Today is Forester's very last day of chemo!! Two more pills and he's DONE!!  Woo-hoo!!

He'll have a brain MRI on June 23rd as well as hearing tests, liver tests, etc. this month. He'll continue to have MRI's every 3 months for the next year or so. If everything continues to look good 6 months from now, they will remove his implanted port and we will hope to hear the word REMISSION. 

Tomorrow starts a new day of freedom for Forester.  We REJOICE, we PRAISE and we THANK God!!  He has been with Forester and all of us every step of the way.  Our God is faithful in all circumstances!


With love & thanks,

Whitney

DoDo The Great

Our family is very saddened as my grandmother, "Grand DoDo", passed away on Saturday.  She would have been 89 on the 23rd of this month.  Her body just started shutting down - her heart wasn't pumping efficiently and her kidneys began to fail.  Thankfully this began only a few short months ago and she was still feeling good and enjoying everyday life until very recently. I was privileged to be with her daily and help my mom and dad care for her these last couple of weeks.  As her kidneys began to shut down she began to become very swollen.  Her "Pray for Forester" bracelet on her arm began to cut off her circulation so we asked if we could take it off.  She said "no, I'll never take that off" and she hadn't since the first day she put it on & it was on when she died.  Precious!  We have it saved in a special place.  She loved her children, her grand children and great grand children with a passion.  She has lived with my parents for the last 4 years or so and passed away in the comfort of her own home and bed surrounded by loved ones.  She was amazing and we miss her so.  We are so thankful to know that she is completely whole and free with the Savior!

Obituary below.

Dorothy M. Slade

Dorothy M. Slade, 88, a native and long time resident of Evansville, Indiana, passed away Saturday, May 8, at her home in Seabrook Island, South Carolina, following a brief illness. 

Dorothy Slade, known as Dodo, Grandodo and Great Grandodo to friends and family, was born May 23, 1921 in Evansville to Ralph and Lillian Burchfield.  She graduated from Bosse High School and attended Indiana University, then supported the WWII war effort as a clerk in the rations office.  She later worked with her husband at Jack Slade Realty.

In 1943, Dorothy married John T. Slade and became mother to a son and daughter, and the adoptive mother of dozens of cocker spaniels and lhasa apsos — the couple shared a hobby of breeding and showing dogs.

Dorothy was a St. Mary’s Hospital Pink Lady and a volunteer at Little Sisters of the Poor.  She was an enthusiastic fan of University of Evansville basketball, Davidson College football, Atlanta Braves baseball and the NFL.  She was an avid bowler, bridge player and Scrabble player and worked the daily crossword puzzle in ink.  She was a lifelong member of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, where she was baptized nearly 89 years ago.  She loved the ocean and spent the last four years of her life living beside it in her home near Charleston, SC.

She is survived by a daughter, Susan S. Brown of Seabrook Island, SC, and a son, Gordon B. Slade of Stone Mountain, GA.  “Grandodo” was dearly loved by her grandchildren: Parker Slade, Whitney Bradburn, Katherine Swaney, Brandon Slade and Forrest Goodyear-Brown.  She recently said that her favorite music was the voices of her great-grandchildren: Anna Slade, Madison Goodyear-Brown, Slade Bradburn, Sam Goodyear-Brown, Forester Bradburn, Jackson Slade, Micah Bradburn, Jack Swaney and Nicholas Goodyear-Brown.

She is also survived by her beloved sister-in-law, Isabelle Burchfield, by nieces Marty Slade Perlman and Ann McCutchan Osuch, and nephews John Burchfield, Dean Burchfield, Bryan Slade and Tom Slade. A nephew, David Carlton, died in 1972.

Dorothy was predeceased by her husband and by her sister, Betty McCutchan, and brother, Jack Burchfield.

A mass for Dorothy Slade will be said at St. Benedicts Catholic Church on Friday, May 15 at 9:00 a.m. with burial to follow at Oak Hill Cemetery.  The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Alexander Funeral Home – East Chapel, 2115 Lincoln Ave. in Evansville.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions may be made to a fund that helps to pay medical bills for Dorothy’s great-grandson, who is being treated for a brain tumor: The Forester Fund, 114 Sugar Magnolia Way, Charleston, SC 29414, or  http://thebradburns.blogspot.com

Condolences may be made online at  http://www.alexandereastchapel.com

Forester's Medical Bills

Throughout this last year we have been SO blessed by your amazing generosity to us. So many care packages, gift cards, AMAZING fundraisers, and financial gifts. Thank you just doesn't do justice to how we feel. Because of you, we are not drowning in a sea of debt right now and that is a miracle in itself! In spite of this, our medical bills continue to come in and we continue to be challenged by this financial burden. And, we regularly encounter people who ask us what we need & how they can help us financially. So, we have added a Donate button on the top right of our website. If you feel led to contribute to Forester's medical bills (even if it's just $5.00!) please click on that button and it will take you directly to Paypal and Forester's fund. We thank you so much for your care and willingness to fight this cancer battle with us.  We are not alone and you are a part of our mighty army that is winning this war.  To God be the Glory!


We love you,
The Bradburns

April Update

I've been working on a new post for quite sometime now and I believe I have "bitten off more than I can chew" as they say.  Lately we seem to be surrounded by a lot of difficult situations...my grandmother's health is declining, we lost one of Pete's best friends to cancer 2 weeks ago, some of our closest friends are dealing with a very fragile pregnancy with twins - one twin with Downs Syndrome & possibly other complications. Frankly, too many people I know have CaringBridge websites! Are you picking up what I'm puttin' down?  YUCK.  And again it begs the question WHY? So, I started a post about what I have learned in the last year or so about asking God that question.  It's not a small thing to try and put into words and I'm currently stuck due to my lack of communication skills and feeling completely inadequate to tackle such a question. But,  I'll keep working on it.  Meanwhile, it's been a month since I've updated you on Forester and I know it's overdue.

The last month has gone quite well.  We are back into the normal routine of school and homework, church and play, and even some normal weekend activities like golf with Daddy & Pop & Uncle Steve, and kicking the soccer ball in the backyard. Forester continues to go to physical therapy once a week to work on improving his balance and regain strength in his legs. He met all of his goals in physical therapy last month and was so proud to show me.  Things such as, 15 jumping jacks, & running on the treadmill! His therapist is very good and we are so pleased with the progress he is making.  We continue to see some side effects of his chemo like; random nausea/vomiting, fatigue, emotional ups and downs, depressed blood counts & loss of appetite.  These are minimal compared to what we were dealing with a few months ago but can still be stressful at times.  Our biggest concern at the moment is Forester's weight.  He's about 10lbs under weight and looks pretty skinny.  He just isn't eating much at all and still has what I describe as being like 1st trimester pregnancy morning sickness symptoms.  Something may sound good until he sees it and then he rejects it. Certain foods will sound good for a week or so and then he doesn't want it all at anymore. He'll take 2 bites of something and that's it. I know it must be so tough for him.  But, it can also be so frustrating for Pete and myself. Especially for me when I spend time cooking what he wants (in addition to what I've already made for dinner) and then he doesn't eat it.  Please pray for patience for us where food is concerned. 

At Forester's check up on Thursday his blood counts were really good - almost normal! Everything we heard was positive except he was put back on Megace, an appetite stimulant.  Pray that it increases his appetite and that he eats and gains weight! Again, in comparison to our worries a few months ago this is nothing and we are so thankful that this is our greatest concern at the moment. We are also so thankful that we are in the last 2 months of chemo! Is that a light I see at the end of this tunnel?? God is so good and YOU and your prayers have made all the difference. We are so thankful for you - that you care and that you pray. It is overwhelming and completely humbling.  Thank you and don't stop. :-)

Love, love, love,

Whitney

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PETE!

Cancer can bring out the best and worst in people. It's really true. I've seen both sides. And, I have to say in the midst of the most trying year of our lives, my husband, Pete, has come through shining and he truly is the BEST!  Today is his birthday and I just want to celebrate him.  Though, I would never wish cancer on my child and I would take it away in a second if I could, I am thankful that I've been able to see more of who Pete is. (see how God can take even the hardest circumstances and use it for his good?!) To say that Pete stepped up is an understatement. His compassion and patience, his calmness and humor, his love for God and trust in Jesus have kept us all together.  He is a Godly husband and father, a hard worker and wonderful provider.  I am so blessed to call him my husband.  I love you, babe.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!