Brayden Wood: The Warrior

Brayden Wood is many things. He is kind. He is thoughtful. He is smart. He is an amazing athlete. He is loved by many- family and friends alike. Brayden is also a true warrior.

Brayden was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in 2018 and soon found out he had the rare subtype with the Philadelphia Chromosome. He has been going thru countless treatments, back and forth from Rotorua to be close to family and then back to Auckland's Starship hospital for the specialized care he needs. Some of the challenges he has undergone include chemotherapy, stays in the Intensive Care Unit, fungal infections, surgery, kidney disfunction, inability to keep food down, hair loss, and pain. He knows he will need a bone marrow transplant and that his mum is his awaiting donor.

Brayden has missed out on school, high level rugby and cricket play, friends, and regular teen-age milestones. Brayden has had the worst of it- really. Worse than anyone deserves. Worse than most of us will experience in an entire lifetime.

Like a true warrior, going to battle is rarely a choice. Warriors are thrust into the fight to protect their own lives. Brayden is a warrior. He is doing all he can to learn about his condition and his treatments, to advocate for his needs, to do what is asked of him even when it hurts, and to be strong enough to ask for support from his whanau when he just needs a break. We all wish we could take him out of this fight- just let him have all the health others don't even appreciate. What we would all give if we could just take some of this burden from Brayden so he can have his regular teen life back.

So, that is our ask. We are asking you, after over a year of this, to support Brayden and his family on this journey. This biggest challenge Boo has faced with his treatment has been nausea and vomiting. The doctors at Starship have tried every available medication to control this side effect, but nothing has been successful. As one can imagine this has greatly impacted his quality of life and caused significant weight loss. Our last hope is in a medication called Sativex. Boo's doctors have applied to the Ministry of Health for use of this drug, and he has been granted approval. Which is great news except the drug is not funded by our social health care system. We have been informed the cost of Sativex in NZ will be ~$1000 a month. We anticipate Brayden will receive a bone marrow transplant in January. His treatment post transplant with a drug called Imatinib is at least 6 months. So, prior to transplant and for 6 months following we need to fund Sativex alone will be at least $9,000.00. Brayden and his family have had many additional costs including missed work, travel to treatments, and supportive medical care. Please donate, if you can, to ease one of the stressors for Brayden and his whanau so he can get the best of whatever he needs to keep on.

Warrior on Brayden. Show up in any way you can in this moment. When you are tired, we will rally. We are here with you. We love you. We will do all we can to support you.