Detention and Memorial Day weekend - May 22

Hi everybody,

We have been real busy this week even though I have been so tired from the radiation. On Tuesday morning I fell down and hit my head and it was pretty scary. Wednesday was good though. It's been kinda weird because a reporter from WCIU in Chicago wanted to interview me and I feel funny about when people want to take my picture. There is a lot to tell and Mom does it better than me so she's gonna write all about it.
Love and thank you to everybody for all your support!
Bree

From Mom Jennifer:
(This is a longer update, but I wanted to include some very important events and a special thank you to Brianna’s relatives who we will honor this holiday weekend!) Thank you very much for following this journey and for your unending love & support!!
BRIANNA'S STORY?---A reporter from WCIU Chicago learned about Brianna after reading the November newspaper article in the Naperville Sun. He was following her story online and contacted us about two months ago to see if we might be interested in sharing her story. May is brain tumor awareness month and he was inspired by Brianna’s positive attitude in dealing with such a difficult illness and it is our hope that her story will touch hearts and build DIPG awareness. The reporter is sensitive to our needs and requests and is not overly intrusive. He is showing great patience as Brianna is the most camera-shy person in the world!! Trying to capture her true personality is quite a challenge. We hope that we have been able to capture some glimpses of the “true Brianna” in order to show the world how incredible she is…we want people to see Brianna the way we do! Kyle spent most of Wednesday trying to capture special moments to give people a true picture of what Brianna is going through and how she handles herself.
DR. VISIT---I took Brianna to her doctor appointment Wednesday (Dr. Ellison-primary) and Kyle was there to capture the check-up and the patient/doctor relationship. He was planning on following us for the day and the doctor visit was the first outing of the day. Of course, Brianna was very quiet and shy and it was difficult to capture the wonderful rapport between her and Dr. Ellison which is one of mutual love, respect, caring, and understanding. Brianna presented Dr. Ellison with a gift (a special picture frame she made for Dr. Ellison with a picture of the two of them together) so hopefully that act will show her true personality.
BRIANNA VISITS SCHOOL FRIENDS---Following the doctor visit, we went to Brianna’s school to surprise her friends and say hello to everyone after a long absence. Brianna has TONS of close friends and I am amazed at what a wonderful group of girls she has chosen to associate with…absolutely the most caring, talented, supportive, loving group of friends! It is not an exaggeration when I say that her list of “very close friends” is at least 15-20 girls. Ms. Beauregard and (not all…but a lot) of Brianna’s friends were waiting for the surprise and it turned out to be a wonderful visit. They each helped color/label golf balls for us to use later that evening. When I looked around the room at these incredible girls I had to ask (already knowing the answer), “Have any of you ever received a detention?” Of course, the answer was no, because just like Brianna, these girls are too sweet to ever get into trouble. So, Ms. Beauregard decided Brianna should receive her first detention for vandalizing golf balls!! I signed the detention slip, but I did not take Brianna to serve the detention the next morning. :o)
SMACKING GOLF BALLS---Bob, Eric, Haley, Kaitlyn and I decided to drive some cancer golf balls into the woods behind our house after dinner Wednesday night. Kyle was still following us, but Brianna was pooped out and needed a nap. Kyle filmed us swinging the clubs, but some need more practice than others. We realized what great therapy this is and we plan on continuing to collect donated golf balls, decorating them, and making it to a driving range to continue to smack cancer and “stupid DIPG tumors.”
HOLIDAY WEEKEND---Brianna and I will travel to Peoria Saturday night in order to watch Kaitlyn in her volleyball tournament. Matt headed to Peoria this evening with Kaitlyn so she can play Saturday afternoon. I hope Brianna feels up to the trip as we know our plans have potential to change last minute depending on how Brianna is feeling. We hope to finish out the volleyball season with Brianna cheering on Kaitlyn! We wish Kaitlyn and her team the best of luck in the two-day tourney!!
GOD BLESS---All of our military veterans and current soldiers this holiday weekend! Especially, Brianna’s Grandpa Rick Sharp (U.S. Army-Retired), Grandpa Jack Close (U.S. Coast Guard-retired, deceased), Uncle Jeff Close (U.S. Navy-Retired), Uncle Josh Moser (U.S. Army-Active, two tours Iraq), Great-Grandpa Richard Sharp (U.S. Army-retired, deceased), Great-Grandpa James Skinner (U.S. Army-retired), & Great-Uncle Steve Sharp (U.S. Army Reserves-Afghanistan), Great-Grandpa Harold Cochran (U.S. Army-retired, deceased), Great-Uncle Robert Cochran (U.S. Army-retired).

From Brianna's Family