qccoachswife

It is sad. Unfortunately, in 3 years it will probably be another member with another agenda. Even more unfortunate is that the situation is not unique to LK. The same scenario happens year after year in countless schools across the state. I tell people all the time that being a coach's wife is one of the most rewarding roles I am blessed to play in this life. The opportunity to watch my husband make a difference in the lives of teenagers is quite simply, AMAZING, and I thank God for that. However, with the good comes the bad, and one of the biggest downfalls of being a coach is that many parents think they could do better. A large portion of society believes that old saying "Those who can -- DO. Those who can't -- TEACH." They completely disregard that there are a number of teachers/coaches out there who chose their career because of a desire to MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Sometimes, I would like to see what would happen if the people with "all the answers" had the opportunity to run the athletic program. Parents, I think, struggle with having to consider ALL the athletes because we as a society do not value "TEAM". As a parent, you have the luxury of having only the welfare of your child to consider. As a coach, you have to consider how "EACH AND EVERY" decision effects the entire team. When you have a board member who has ANY type of personal problem with a coach, their vote on anything regarding the athletic program becomes biased. The hardest thing about all the "small town politics" is the effect it has on my own children. Our last move was before any of our children were enrolled in school, so it did not effect them lilke it would now. I know that after being at our current school for the last 7 years, it will be devastating for them when we have to move. Even though I realize the coach's personal children are not the responsiblity of the school board, it hurts to know that in many instances they don't even consider the effects of all this on his family. It seems like the longer it drags on, the harder it gets, and I always feel like I walk around with a knot in my stomach for half the spring semester. Try to keep your head up. Remember that eveything happens for a reason, and that God's plan is perfect. I will be praying for a quick resolution to this current conflict, and try to remember that even with the current situation, we are blessed to be a part of the coaching community. (If you just want to VENT sometimes, feel free to send me a message...coaches' wives have to stick together)

Prayers from Queen City

Sorry that it has been so long since I updated everyone. I have set up a webpage at caringbridge.org. I have been trying to update that daily. So, anyway its there if you want to read about the past few days. The short version is...We are home!!! The visit went very well. Brandon will be able to stay here in Texarkana for treatments. Depending on how those go, he may be considered for some experimental trials later on that would require us to be in Houston long term. Our doctor was encouraging, but also warned that he did not want to give us false hope. He said there is a small percentage of people who had the same scenario as Brandon who are 5 years out and disease free right now. Of course that gve us tremendous hope. Brandon will have to have day surgery in the coming weeks to put in a medi-port. This is how he will receive his treatments. The treatments will be administered over 2 days every 2 weeks. He will have to wear a pump that dispenses the medication and will be able to work, play, etc. as long as he feels like it. (He cannot however swim or skydive while wearing the pump. You can imagine how disturbing this was for him. HAHA!) We will go back to MD Anderson after 4 treatments for a reevaluation. I would like to say again...That place is incredible, amazing, phenomenol. I assure you there are not enough words to describe it. Everyone there is so encouraging and ready to share a story of hope. I thank God that we were able to get in there so quickly. Thank you so much for all your prayers and concern. The support we have received has been overwhelming. Phyllis

Okay guys...we have finally arrived in Houston. These past 3 weeks have seemed more like 3 years. We are staying right across the street from the hospital and it is amazing. That place is huge. We may need a tour guide to get around. We register at 7:30 tomorrow morning and then have a pretty full day of testing. I don't know when we will know anything about our treatment choices, but I do know we would not have made it this far w/o the prayers and support of everyone. Brandon had his staples removed yesterday and Dr. O'Banion said everything looked good. He is feeling better and getting stronger everyday. The best news, he can start holding the little man again. Thanks again for all your prayers...Keep 'em coming!!!! Phyllis

WE ARE GOING HOME!!!!!!!! Spirits are high and there is a big smile on Brandon's face. Thanks again for all the prayers and keep 'em coming! Phyllis and Brandon

We have had a pretty good day today. The doctor told us yesterday that we would probably get to go home today, so I had been waiting to post until we knew for sure. The doctor still has not been in, but we are hopeful that he will be soon and we will be sleeping in our own bed tonight. He's eating soft foods and starting to feel stronger. Another really good thing happened for us today. My brother's best friend has a cousin that works at MD Anderson in Houston and he had called her to tell her of our situation. She called today and said that she was going to be able to get us an appt. in just a couple of weeks. We had previously been told it would take about 6 weeks just to be evaluated. On top of that the doctor she works for is the specialist that had been recommended to us. How's that for God working it out for us. Keep the prayers coming because they are working!!!! Thank you so much for all the prayers and support!!!!! Phyllis

UPDATE: Brandon had a pretty good night. Our 3 boys and our nephew came up yesterday for about 45 minutes...that's better than any medicine. However, he did tell me that he kept having nightmares during the night about the kids running around the room getting all tangled up in in his IV. (Its good that he's regaining some of his sense of humor.) He looks much better this morning and seems to be feeling a lot better. This afternoon we will try to venture outside into one of the gardens for a few minutes. We are hoping to be back home on Saturday, but that will depend on how well he tolerates the soft diet they will start him on tomorrow. Thanks for all the continued prayers and well wishes.

Okay guys the path report is in and all is as suspected. Stage IV colon cancer with metastases to the liver. Our surgeon is wonderful and keeps our spirits high. He told Brandon this morning that the past few days have been like summer meetings...just gathering all the information about the opponents and getting our scouting report together. The next few week we will embark on two-a-days. We're going to build up his stamina and get him as physically and emotionally ready for this treatment as possible. When we get down to MD Anderson we will be going through preseason with some initial consultations and maybe some more testing. Then we get into district play where every minute counts with his treatment. I thank God that we got lucky and Dr. O'Banion was on call last Thursday. It is very uplifting to have a doctor who believes in you and the power of prayer and the power of a positive attitude. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. Phyllis

Last night seemed to go better for both of us. We both got some much needed rest. Brandon has already been up and walking this morning, and is now napping comfortably. We are waiting on the results from the pathology report today, but don't anticipate that it will tell us much more than the stage of the cancer. Keep up the prayers and thanks so much for all your strength and support. Its reassuring just knowing that there are so many people out there pulling for us to beat this.

Brandon has been up and walking twice today. He also received two units of blood this morning and that has done wonders for his color and how he is feeling. He is very sore, but his spirits are high. We are so very thankful for all your prayers and well wishes. Keep praying...we plan on making a trip to Houston in a few weeks to put an "East Texas whooping" on this cancer. Thank you, Phyllis

Brandon is now out of surgery and back up in his room. The removal of the tumor went as well as possible. However, the cancer has spread from the colon into the liver. We are now waiting for his recovery before we are able to travel to MD Anderson for our next course of action. Brandon and I have three small boys who are very confused right now as to why their daddy was perfectly fine last week, but is now so very sick. We would very much appreciate your continued prayers and strength. I have often said that being a coach's wife is such a blessing to me and my family...all you other wives know just how many kids that really includes. The coaching community is such a tight knit one and I know that with your continued prayers we can begin this battle that we will eventually conquer.

Brandon Warren (baseball coach at QC) was diagnosed last Friday with colon cancer. He is having surgery tomorrow morning (6-11) at 10:00. They will remove a portion of his colon and biopsy some spots on his liver. I know the crowd is slim during the summer, but please remember Coach Warren in your prayers.