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Brayden Wood: The Warrior

  • Kia Kaha

      24 May 2020

    Dearest family, friends and donors. As many of you know, our dear Brayden passed away earlier this month. We are all so grateful for your support for him and for his family during this time. Thank you all for your love. Please send strength and prayers to his parents, family and friends. Brayden- you will be missed beyond measure and you were, and are, so very loved. Kia kaha.

    New Zealand Herald article

    Cancer sufferer 'put up one hell of a fight' at Starship

    https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnzherald.co.nz%2Fnz%2Fnews%2Farticle.cfm%3Fc_id%3D1%26objectid%3D12332176&data=02%7C01%7C%7C5c1b10f736d949ba695808d7febaff82%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637257951412657837&sdata=HP4HEkSrUeJvEwTkphUuVcHfBW81lUGkUDsa536aFiQ%3D&reserved=0

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  • 23rd March Update from Brendyn

      27 March 2020
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    Wow!!!.....Big day Team Boo.....not sure if it’s now day 528 SNL or day 1 (since normal life).....Covid changing our world......Good news as far as Boos transplant went well ..... no bad reactions for him so far and happily sleeping.....have heard his Mum is doing ok , though very tired ....having 1138 mills of marrow removed will do that to you ..... very thankful to Elizabeth for this !.....so basically Boo has a beach head in the battle ..... the coming weeks will tell .....he will be in a very strict isolation while his new white blood cell factory ramps up production.....he’s a little humbled that the rest of the world has gone into isolation as well in sympathy for him ....lol 😉 but seriously we hope all of you stay safe and get through this unscathed...... know he will keep battling and hopefully when his new immune system clicks in to full gear the world will have kicked the ronas ass and we can celebrate V C day ..... ( victory over cancer and Corona virus).....love you all , stay safe .....Boos got this!!

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  • 22nd March Update from Brendyn

      27 March 2020
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    Day 527 SNL.

    Hello team Boo...... firstly sorry for the extended hiatus in reporting Boos progress ...... these last 4-5 months have been relatively event free as far as treatments and battles with the enemy leukaemia..... since his last chemo treatments Boo has been living a somewhat normal life .... recovering, getting stronger.... being a teenager again .... the chemo though it was working at killing the leukaemia it was also taking a huge toll on him physically and mentally..... his poor young body was unable to take any more causing infections and sickness..... finally the Drs agreed with us and let him rest ..... don’t get me wrong they were doing there best , what they thought was right but in the end it was too much for our warrior and a different path was needed..... along with the rest , the satvix ( medical marijuana) has been a god send for him and we cannot thank you all who donated to his give a little page enough.....and a huge thanks to “Auntie Kelly “ for setting it up for him ..... it helped him recover from the terrible chemo trip and now again with the radiation and chemo in the build up to what is next ..... Boo has had a great normal summer life .... got his learners license, lived at Russell with his bestie “uncle Craig” slaying the fish everyday .... the cancer war zone a blurry distant memory for a awhile ..... he was even able to come back to Kapiti to be with me and Sam for a few weeks to go to school , hang with his mates .....as I said be a normal teenager again ..... also he was pretty stoked to be allowed to have an early 17th birthday party thanks to Sam giving him the ok and helping him persuade Dad that it would all be ok ......lol....which brings us back to the now, the suck , though hopefully it’s the finally big push!!!......last Sunday he returned to starship .... has had radiation and chemo to nullify his original immune system so tomorrow he can , thanks to his Mum receive his new one..... in the form of Elizabeth’s 100% matched marrow ..... so awesome it is .....and I can only say how thankful we are for that!!!..... hanging with Boo tonight he has been comfortable , happy a little excited and very nervous at the same time ..... I likened for him to being an allied soldier on the eve of D day during WW2 ..... he is about go on the attack , invade and drive this scourge out and take back his body for good !!!......so proud of my Boo boy......our Boo boy .....he loves you all ......you got this Boo!!!!

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  • Transplant this March: Update from Elizabeth

      29 February 2020
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    Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a happy 2020!

    We finally have a date set for bone marrow transplant. Brayden will be admitted to Starship on the 13th March. In the meantime, he has had a great summer fishing. He has gained back his weight and looks awesome, and will be going into this strong! He has also been able to go back to school for a few weeks hanging out with friends and playing Cricket.

    The first week at Starship will be radiation and chemotherapy to treat his bone marrow, then transplant. I will have a day stay surgery in the adjacent main hospital while they remove ~1 litre of my healthy marrow (I know it's healthy because they have tested me for EVERYTHING 😐) and immediately transfer it to Starship where Brayden will receive it like a blood transfusion. They said I should be well enough to be wheelchaired over so I can be with him while he gets the transplant. After that it's🤞& 🙏 while the marrow settles in and starts making him a new immune system. We expect to be in Starship for 6 to 8 weeks while he recovers.

    We are so thankful that his leukaemia is still in remission and he's had this time to be well and happy 🥰

    Thank you everyone for your support!

    From Elizabeth

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  • New Zealand Herald Article

      5 November 2019
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    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12279481

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    • 05/11/2019 by Rebecca

      We are so glad the Drs have found medicine that is compatible with your body Brayden. You and your family are very special to us and we are going to try and help you get this medicine as much as we can... Keep being strong Boo, we know you can do it. But rest when you need to as well.

      Love you so much Bec, Sam and Joseph xxx xxx xxx You are always on our minds!!!

  • Brayden makes the news...

      3 November 2019
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    Brayden makes the news.

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  • Medications are working well! Thank you all.

      31 October 2019

    From Elizabeth: Brayden has been on the Sativex for 1-week now with no bad side effects, and he's been able to stop taking all other anti-nausea medication which were putting him to sleep. He feels more energetic, has regained his appetite, and is gaining weight! Everything we had hoped for 😊

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    • 31/10/2019 by Rebecca

      Hi Elizabeth and Brayden

      This is such great news that the medication is working and you are able to have a bit of normality in your life. Looking forward to being able to visit again sometime soon. Love ya Boo. Bec, Sam and Joseph xxx

  • Gratitude!

      25 October 2019

    Hello all. We wanted to express our heartfelt gratitude for all of the donations to this point- thank you!!

    Brayden and his family were interviewed yesterday by the local Rotorua newspaper. Keep an eye out for the photo and article!

    Thanks all.

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  • I love you so much my Boo ... YOU GOT THIS!!!!

      17 October 2019

    From Brendyn: "Hello Team Boo !........ 365 days SNL......Firstly I will apologise for the lack of comms in the prior 3-4 months..... it has flown ...... with little to actually report ...... Boo came off his last heavy dose of chemo, very sick .....was a very trying time for all of us ..... the very nasty internal bleeding that developed from this poison injected into his system caused no end of complications to which I hope all of you who are parents out there ...... never have to be tortured with...... the result of thi bleeding with numerous visits to ICU at starship..... was a fungal infection that quickly traveled from his intestines to his brain ...... this is really bad when you have no immune system working!........ so a long 3 month regime of antibiotics was started ..... with no further chemo for the first 2 months...... a very slow process..... and made Boo very ill ..... sometimes vomiting 9-10 times a day ...... unable to eat ......scary !...... After a fair bit of stress from the chemo although doing its job ...... at the same time destroying our Boo physically.... we decided no more ......Elizabeth and I were tested for our bone marrow and it’s been found to be that his Mum is unbelievably a 100% match ...... such a blessing as a parent being that it is almost in heard of !!!!...... so this in mind the awesome team at starship had decided that Boo will have a well deserved rest until sometime in January...... have a hopefully normal Xmas and be able to jump of the wharf at Russell, catch fish and play cricket...... all the sort of stuff we used to take for granted!!!!....... any way being the 1 year anniversary since the suck started I would like to thank every one on Team Boo for all the support......I want to compliment and thank his Mum Elizabeth for the outstanding job she has done as his nurse and respect the resilience she and Bruce have had a majority of the time at the coal face ......my son James for looking after Dad my family for being there when I needed you..... my mates , can’t thank you enough.....I love you all...... And to Boo ..... I really don’t have the words to describe the admiration and respect I have for you my boy .......You are the toughest being I have ever known...... I love you so much my Boo ........ YOU GOT THIS!!!!!"

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    • 25/10/2019 by Rebecca

      Love you so much Brayden, Bec, Sam and Joseph xxx xxx xxx

  • Medications Needed

      17 October 2019

    From Elizabeth: 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. Sativex costs $1,000 out of pocket per month and will be needed until his bone marrow transplant in January and for at least six months after.

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