Hello, I’m Scott, Brendon’s Dad. My wife Pat and I have set this fundraiser for our son Brendon. Brendon’s journey to liver transplant came to fruition on June 19th, 2024. Now as he starts his second chance at life, he faces a large amount of accumulated costs that will continue as he moves towards recovery. Brendon’s story is one of resilience that can be used as inspiration to so many others facing the same obstacles or difficulties in life. In January 2017 while attending Ferris State University, Brendon was diagnosed with PSC, a liver disease that had created a cancerous tumor in his bile duct. After a massive surgery, the tumor was successfully removed, but not without some re-routing of his digestive system and removal of his gall bladder. Life would be different from this day forward. Brendon was forced to drop out of college to recover. By fall of 2017 Brendon not only caught up with classes so he could graduate on time but was also was accepted into the Michigan College of Optometry program. With an unknown future, yellow eyes and skin, Brendon started graduate school determined to finish. He was looked at differently, people asked what was wrong with him, and suspected him of being on drugs due to his appearance that he had no control over. On top of an incredibly difficult and stressful Optometry program Brendon routinely had to travel 3 hours from Big Rapids to Metro Detroit for cancer screenings, MRI’s and visits with his doctors. When Covid hit this only added to the difficulty. Through all this adversity, Brendon remained determined. In May of 2024 Brendon graduated Optometry school at the very top of his class. Still with an unknown future and over 180k in student debt Brendon started his optometry career, relocating to Eau Claire Wisconsin. As life continued Brendon’s health began to decline in early 2024 where he was forced to leave work and await liver transplant. Unfortunately rent, car payments, student loans and medical bills did not stop. At the time of transplant we learned that Brendon’s health had declined so bad that he would not have made it out of the hospital without a transplant. Brendon will not be able to start work until he is fully recovered which could take some time due to not only a liver transplant but also a Whipple surgery that was done. Brendon’s story is much more than this short summary. Our goal is to raise some money and give him a jump start with his second chance and to live the best life he can.
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