Update

It's been awhile .... I know.

Brandon went in for a right thoracotomy today at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Brandon is out of surgery & has to begin the process of recovery. We did not receive the results or news we were hoping to hear. This is just another bump in Brandon's courageous battle. I ask that if you contact Brandon please send only words of love & encouragement, if you have any questions please contact ME personally as I want Brandon to focus solely on moving forward & not the negativity of the past. Thank you for the continued love, support, and prayers. They get us through each day and give us tremendous hope.

Thanks & Much Love
Sam Ream

All we need is love

Ummm what else has been going on lately?

First off we finished another week of treatment, another one down in the books. My sister flew in from Chicago for treatment this week so we got to spend some quality time together and she cleaned my house & helped me plant flowers. Bonus! Plus she can always make us laugh.

Unfortunately, this is Brandon's "crappy" week, lots of bloodwork, low levels, no immune system, throw a blood transfusion in there and worst off he gets stir crazy. Probably doesn't help that I keep a pretty close eye on him and most likely I am driving him nuts. But that's never stopped me before so I will continue to nag. :) (only because I love him) We just hope this week's end comes sooner than later. We have a total of 3 weeks off woo hoo! An additional week thrown on there so Brandon's levels can increase and so a energetic Brandon can stand next to his best buddy when he ties the knot in a couple weeks. I'd say our oncologist is pretty awesome.

For all you facebookers out there and maybe some of you that are not, you may have seen a video interview of us floating around. Brandon and I were asked by our friend Tracy to do an interview for the recent Coaches vs. Cancer dinner & golf weekend. (the CVC was the charity we did the 5k) Anyways the video was pretty emotional for us, it brought us back to November/December in this process, which was a time we were very confused.. We feel like we are now on the right path and our strength truly comes directly from our awesome families and caring friends. Thanks for all the love.

A few special encouraging moments kicking off the month of May/June....
Happy Camp! Woodward officially has started for the summer!
Happy 14th Anniversary to my Sister & Bro in law!
Happy 45th Anniversary to Mom & Dad Tort!
Happy 9th Anniversary to my Brother & Sis in law!
Happy 17th Anniversary to my Sister & Bro in law!

Now if that's not inspiration for Brandon & I, I don't know what is!

Bach-ing it up in the Palm Beaches

It makes me smile knowing Brandon has the energy and strength to do things that make him happy. His friends make him happy.

A couple weeks ago Brandon, the best man, took his best bud Noah & 7 other of their closest friends and hopped on a plane to West Palm Beach. Bachelor party time! The guys enjoyed a long weekend of fun in the sun. A getaway was just what the doctor ordered.

Memorial Day Fun!

We had a nice long memorial day, earlier that week we went to Penn expecting to start another treatment BUT Dr. Staddon sent us home. That was a first, Brandon's platelet level was too low to treat him and Brandon was feeling awesome so he suggested we enjoy another week off.

We spent the week going to dinners, spending time with friends, and most importantly feeling good. Memorial day weekend was spent with my sister and brother in law and with the Ream family. We BBQ'd and pool hopped between our pool and our parents pool. Overall we got a good tan, B got some exercise in the pool and he began to train for Rio 2016.

Hope you all had a happy long weekend!

Bad News, Good News, pushing through it

Well, let's start with the bad, trust me I know it sucks but we have to start somewhere. Back in March we learned that Brandon's first 15 weeks of treatments weren't working the way the doctors had hoped. Let's just say we were devastated. 15 weeks of tough chemotherapy did not work, the tumor was still growing. After a few hours of hugs and tears we realized we needed to push through, our first question to Dr. Staddon & Laetitia, What's next?

New drugs, new schedule, new side effects, it was quite overwhelming at first, it felt like we were starting over. This new chemo required Brandon to be in the chemo chair 6 hours every day, 5 days for one week. Then 2 weeks off, he would do 2 cycles of this treatment, get more scans, MRI and go from there. He had the new scans & MRI about 4 weeks ago, that week was heart wrenching waiting for the phone call from Dr. Staddon. Is it working? What happens if it doesn't? 4 days after his scans that phone call came from Doc, "Brandon, it seems this new drug is working, no new growth & the tumor is showing small signs of calcifying." Then the tears of joy came, finally some good news & HOPE!

We still have a long road ahead & many more cycles to endure plus surgeries BUT Brandon's leg is feeling much better then it previously had and it helps that Brandon is the strongest person I know (and the cutest).

What we've been up to you ask?

Hi everyone I know I have been MIA but I plan to get you all updated in the next couple weeks. The most important thing right now is that at this particular moment Brandon is feeling good. We have learned that we must take each day one at a time and always hope for the best! Below are some pictures of some of the great things we've been blessed with lately. Thanks to everyone for the continual support, it gets us through each day!

What are you thankful for? YUM

Thanks to our favorite decorator & good friend, Kate Kissell for the awesome meal tonight, she is an amazing cook & it is one of Brandon's favorite meals.

Even better we got to enjoy it as a family, FAMILY DINNER TIME:)

Another addition of ... Things we love lately

Our own bed
Tazo Wild Sweet Orange Tea
Sportcenter Not so "Top 10"
Black Bean Burgers
Dice with Friends
Modern Family
Pictures of our new twin nieces
Water with Lemon
Pandora Radio
Turkey dinner
Phase 10
Oatmeal
Funny texts
Fresh Picked Pear Antibacterial
Anderton Dentistry hand lotion
Chapstick
Walking cane
Marathon Restaurant Philly
Skip Bo
PB&J
Our families
Sleep
Visitors at the most opportune times
Waffle Shop
Sam cleaned her car
Internet hotspot
Our nurse, Jennifer
HGTV
Mancala
Tazo Passion Tea
Starbucks
Laughing
Hugs after bathroom breaks
Blood transfusions
I Love Lucy at 5am
DVR
Love

Most of you have been wondering, where have the blogs been? I was sick and as most of you know being sick & trying to care for someone isn't good for either party. Overall, we had a rough couple weeks a little while back but we now feel like were back on track mentally and emotionally and as you can see we have lots to love lately!

Home

One of the best parts of being home!

Here comes Peter Cottontail

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We spent ours with family just eating tons of food, enjoying the weather, and watching the Masters. We are now in transit to Philly for another treatment. Here's a picture of the Tortorello side sporting their TEAM REAM tshirts on Easter Sunday in Chicago.

Happy Birthday Laura!

Ok I have to brag

When I continually say that we have the most AMAZING friends and family, I MEAN IT! Last week Brandon and I received a very special gift. My best friend, Keri, reached out to friends and family and put together a scrapbook of letters, cards, pictures, and inspirational quotes sent to her from those we love all around the country even internationally (my close friend in Quebec contributed). It was just what we needed at that time, a book full of love written by those we love. To top it off the book was put together perfectly, Brandon kept saying "how did she do this?" "how'd she know?". This scrapbook along with all the cards, messages we have received throughout his whole battle get us through everyday. Keri, thank you again for making that book, I am so thankful we found each other at St. Paul's those 14 years ago.

A little look at the book....

 

Hope

"Hope has two beautiful daughters- their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are" -St. Augustine

Book of Love

Most of you who follow this blog know both Brandon and I or maybe just one of us, so I thought I'd change things up at bit and share "our" story. Probably boring to most but meeting this kid, Brandon, turned out to be the best thing in my life.

I guess it all started freshman year, I use to meet my friend from high school, JR, every Tuesday after BBH class for lunch at Pollock Commons. His teammate, Brandon Ream, had class with JR and also joined us. There you have it, our first introductions. Neither Brandon or I really remember much from those lunches nor speaking much so let's fast forward 2 years.

Of course we use to see each other throughout those years, we ran in pretty similar crowds, sharing mutual friends, don't all athletes? Well, it all started one night at the Shandygaff, May 2005. For those of you who don't know much about the PSU bar scene the Gaff is pretty much a hole in the wall bar that featured $5 Captain and Coke pitchers and during our era, all athletes frequented. By the way Brandon and I have only been back to the Gaff once since the day we graduated and vowed to each other we'd probably never step foot in there again. (except the night of my bachelorette party) Two of my vball managers and friends both went to high school with Brandon and mentioned to me that I may like "Ream" they were also talking me up to Brandon. Viola! That night Brandon Ream asked for my digits and we've been together ever since. Of course "The Daily Collegian" officially defined our relationship that fall when they printed that football punter, Brandon Ream was my boyfriend in a volleyball article. Let me tell you that was fun. Not!

In 7 years, Brandon and I have lived up our senior year in college together, survived almost 2 years long distance (I lived in Colorado and Illinois), worked through me moving jobless to Pennsylvania over 4 years ago, got engaged, planned a wedding, bought a house, got married and now are battling cancer.

Best 7 years of my life and I look forward to the next 100 with him.

Team Ream Believes

Brandon and I are fortunate to have amazing family and friends. This weekend was a true testament to the great people in our lives.

We have quite a few friends who are very involved in the organization, Coaches vs. Cancer that raises money for the fight against cancer. Friends of ours Mike and Malissa Martin brought to our attention that there was a 5K Run/Walk for the CVC and thought creating a Team Ream to participate would be a great idea.

This past St. Patrick's Day, About 70 people ran/walked a 5K route through Penn State's campus donning a TEAM REAM T-shirt (over 350 runners total) and did it for not only a great cause but in support of Brandon. Brandon enjoyed the race cruising campus via golf cart with Basketball staff members & Coach Chambers. I can say from deep down in my heart we are so appreciative of all the love and support we have received, it truly helps us push through each day.

Enjoy the pictures below and if you'd like to donate to a great cause visit www.cvcpennstate.org or you can email mikemartin1079@yahoo.com and he can direct all proceeds from TEAM REAM to the CVC. Already over $1,000 raised!

Again, thanks for a great day!

March Madness

Brandon and I are often told that we're a pretty competitive couple. Not sure where people get that from, maybe it's that we believe losing in a board game is not an option or possibly we can turn anything we do into a competition OR winning is in both our top 5 favorite things to do. Our games of UNO and Phase 10 in the hotel have become pretty heated. Well today during our 2 hour wait for Brandon's MRI he convinced me to fill out a bracket. Bad idea. Our bed time tv tonight turned into him yelling VCU! VCU! and myself making up random Wichita State cheers. I know your thinking, "VCU vs. Wichita State, really Brandon and Sam?". Guess this time of year brings out the best in all of us.

Happy March Madness, Go Big Ten!

$20 on Black

I'll explain later

Pocketful of Sunshine

Back from the 80 degrees and sunshine of South Florida. State College was a whopping 35 degrees with flurries upon our return. Thanks Pennsylvania. We are looking forward to a weekend of rest, regrouping, and preparing for this upcoming treatment. Brandon battled through a not so forgiving cycle 3a and is ready to get after what lies ahead.
Below is a short conversation I had in Florida with our 3 year old nephew, Brener. Brener and I were playing with diggers and trucks on the beach while Brandon and Alistair fished from the beach into the ocean.

Me: Brandon, how are feeling?
Brandon: Fine.
Brener: Sammy does Uncle B leg feel better?
Me: Yes, it's getting better.
Brener: Good, I bet those fishing rods will help it feel better.

Love that kid.

That is a lot of Christmas gifts to buy

Throughout this whole process Brandon and I have tried to focus on all the things we have to be happy about and all the exciting events in our future. One of those events happened yesterday. We are now the proud aunt & uncle of 6 nieces & 5 nephews. My brother and his wife had their first children, TWIN girls. Congrats to them and Uncle Brandon and I can't wait to hold our sweet little nieces. Thanks for bringing so many smiles to us already!

Reunited and it feels so good

I have to say that over the past years I have grown pretty accustomed to Brandon being gone for weeks at a time. Jet setting around the world with his Dad to China, Germany, Switzerland or even just California. Of course I missed him during these trips but I usually used this time to catch up on housework, bills, and spend time with my girlfriends. So I thought this time would be no different, well I was wrong. I did the normal "me" time activities but it was much more difficult to be away from Brandon. Especially because he has had such a tough go this time around. Yes, he was in sunny Florida but he was confined to the couch and felt just plain lousy. Extreme fatigue, no energy, sore throat, mouth sores, it was something new every day. Our face time conversations proved to be very hard for me to handle, I hated seeing him like that and I was unable to hug him. I just wanted to scream "Get me outta here!". (State College that is)

Brandon had his normal appointment with Dr. Green. Perfect timing because there were a lot of questions to be asked, what about this sore throat, energy issues etc. Diagnosis: Thrush, grrrrrreeeeeaaaat. Can he please catch a break? Luckily, we have a great doctor who prescribed him some good drugs and insisted that he come back to get check ups. He went back to Dr. Green yesterday and his throat looked much better but his platelet level was extremely low.

I'm writing this entry on our way back to Dr. Green, Brandon and I were reunited yesterday and I will be at this appointment this morning. Hoping his levels are on the upswing and we can avoid a transfusion. He is feeling better than a week ago and I like to think that HUGE hug I gave him at the airport helped a little too.

Stay tuned.

Things we love lately....

In no particular order.

Sorbet
The Hunger Games series
Jello
Sparkling fruit juice
Chicken noodle soup
Revenge
Red Box
Sweatpants
Banana nut Cheerios
Golf on tv
Lin-sanity
Our own bed
New IPad games
Sour Patch Kids
Bethenny Ever After
FaceTime
Our fireplace
Apple Anti-bacterial
UNO
Any kind of berry
Each other

Okay well maybe some of the things above are items I only love and am trying to persuade (force) B to love as well but I do know one thing is for sure; I try to tell him I love him at least 100x's a day (& vice versa too:)