When life gives you lemons...
6 March 2022
Kia ora, Mary Seelen here, Brodie's mum. We just wanted to post an update as a lot has happened since Brodie's last one.
Unfortunately but understandably for the safety of everyone, organisers of the Coast to Coast had to cancel the two-day event due to covid. This was closely followed by Ironman NZ postponing until December 2022 as well - Brodie like so many other athletes who trained so hard for these events was understandably pretty gutted. He had planned on organising his own unofficial versions of these events (like he did for his half-ironman last year), but life has had other plans for him!
On the 20th of Feb, just one week after starting his Outdoor Ed course on the West Coast, Brodie was airlifted to Christchurch hospital with Pericardial Effusion.
At this stage, through a process of elimination, Brodie's Drs think his Pericardial Effusion was most likely caused by his graft vs host disease but they're still awaiting the analysis of the fluid they drained from around his heart and as it is such a rare complication we're still uncertain as to what it will all mean/look like moving forward for Brodie. In the meantime, he has been put on two additional meds to help prevent a reoccurrence of it.
Unfortunately, Brodie has been told by his Drs that he can't run the risk of exercising at all for the next three months and devastatingly this means he can no longer do his Outdoor Ed course on the Coast. Brodie has been super gutted by this as he was absolutely loving his course and all the people on it and he was just so excited for the year ahead after what has been a pretty tough and challenging couple of years💔 This has also all come fresh on the heels of the disappointment of the Coast to Coast being canceled and Ironman NZ being postponed after months and months of hard graft and countless hours training. Normally to de-stress or process stuff Brodie would head out for a run, or a surf or something physical but this is also something he can't do right now, so all in all it's been like a quadruple whammy for him. And yet here he is at 18, in amongst all the uncertainty, managing to smile again and he has started looking into alternative options for the year ahead, with the positive mindset and firm resolve he will get back to the course on the Coast next year - so super proud of this boy, his fighting spirit and his incredible resilience! ❤️
Ironically, it is the same two organisations Brodie's been busy fundraising for that are looking after him (and us), yet again!
We feel incredibly grateful to the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Service team for the awesome job they've done (and continue to do), looking after our boy, and we are so, so grateful also to be back at Ranui our home away from home (just across the road from the hospital should we need it) ❤️💛 ❤️
As a mum, it has really bought home to me yet again just how important a place like Ranui is for patients and their families at a time when you feel completely overwhelmed by everything that's out of your control and all your focus and energy is on your child's health and all you want/need to do is be there by their side. So to have the massive weight lifted of questions like where are we going to stay? How are we going to afford to not be working while we're living away from home? All the while not knowing how long you'll need to be there or what tomorrow may hold, it is just such a massive relief to have Ranui to call home - so if you haven't shared out Brodie's Give a little page yet please do and if you have thank you!!
We're meeting again with Brodies Drs tomorrow, so fingers crossed for good news this week - will keep you posted.
Thanks again for all your support ❤️
