Our Story
The MRI of Brian’s tumor, discovered in early November 2019.
In October 2019, Brian began exhibiting behaviors that were unlike him. He was distracted easily and forgetful. He was having a hard time getting to places on time and was much less conversational than usual. Having just moved to Grand Rapids and taken on a new CEO job, many of these observations were attributed to the overwhelming nature of all the changes going on. But by the end of October however, it became painfully obvious that something wasn’t right with Brian. On October 31, 2019 Brian was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI for observation. Various test were run to determine what might be causing the changes in Brian’s behavior. Was it medication related? Was it a liver issue? After ruling out several causes, the doctors finally ordered an MRI of Brian’s brain. The MRI revealed a baseball-size tumor that doctor’s concluded by its characteristics that is was most likely Glioblastoma - the most deadly form of brain cancer with an average life-expectancy of eight to 15 months post diagnosis.
But we weren’t going to let that scare us, so we put on our warrior hats and went after this cancer with full force! On November 4, 2019, the amazing neurosurgery team at St. Mary’s removed most of this beast of a tumor from Brian’s brain. The surgery was a HUGE success and Brian’s immediate recovery was remarkable by everyone’s standards, especially his treating physicians! Three days after Brian’s surgery, he was sitting up in a chair in his hospital room playing the game Sequence and legitimately winning the game against his kids!
Brian “graduating” from his therapy at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids following his Tumor Resection Brain Surgery.
The wristbands made by our good friend Lee Noack.
The Thanksgiving and Christmas immediately following Brian’s surgery we enjoyed lots of family time. Although there were a few things a little different in Brian’s personality, overall he seemed to be doing very well! His great sense of humor & attitude and ability to have fun were very much intact and this warmed our hearts!! At this point we believed it was very likely Brian would return to his position as CEO of Adventure Credit Union. Our sons, at the time, were very entrenched in their studies (Luke in his second year of medical school and R.J. in his third year of law school). It was important to Brian that his health did not detract the boy’s focus on their educational pursuits. To Brian, the kids needed to “stay in their lanes”. So we found ways to have fun together as a family remotely through online video games and regular video chats. All was going pretty well considering all Brian had been through.
Brian and grandson Theo enjoying some video games!
As the radiation and chemotherapy treatment continued, deficits in the “executive functioning” part of Brian’s brain became noticeable and at his thorough 4 hour cognitive evaluation in February 2020, Brian’s treating physicians advised him not to return to work. This was a tough blow to us both. The support and love we received from the Adventure Credit Union community through this journey was remarkable and Brian so wanted to return to lead this amazing team. But deep down we knew in our hearts that the best thing for Adventure Credit Union was to have their amazing existing leadership team take the reins to lead the organization forward.
The team at Adventure Credit Union wearing their Brian McVeigh: Faith, Courage, Strength Wristbands.
Brian officially retired in early March, 2020 and we moved back to the Lansing area during the height of the pandemic in early April. The next month, in May, Brian began exhibiting uncharacteristic behaviors again. But in different ways this time. Brain cancer is so unsettling as you never know what to expect. Your loved one can suddenly do something odd or strange and you wonder why. Did he not sleep well last night and he’s just fatigued? Is this a result of the radiation treatment killing too many good cells? Is there swelling going on caused from the radiation? Or, is the cancer growing? In addition, GBM most commonly shows up in the frontal lobes of the brain, often changing some aspects of one’s personality. These differences can be subtle or pretty major. Bottom line, it all can be so unsettling. In Brian’s case in May of 2020, an MRI determined the brain swelling is what was causing his odd behavior (NOT cancer progression). Whew! We felt like we had dodged another bullet and were so relieved! Brian was put on medication to reduce the swelling and within a day, Brian was starting to return to more normal behavior and functionality!
Brian ringing the bell at the end of his radiation treatments.
The pandemic isolation was a real factor in our story. We saw few people during the time we were battling glioblastoma. Most of our “outings” were doctor’s appointments and treatments. It was hard. We wanted so badly for Brian to enjoy life in what time he had left and do the activities he loved (Spartan athletics being one of them) but so many of these things were not options. Even seeing friends and family was limited during most of 2020. So we gave it up to God and did a lot of praying. Brian continued on his oral chemotherapy and it appeared to be holding the cancer at bay and for that we were so grateful.
When you have Glioblastoma, you “get” to have an MRI every two months. It’s quite the experience to live with a terminal cancer - with the knowledge that living beyond one year would be, statistically, a great success. But we knew we served to a mighty God who had worked miracles in our family before and if it was his will, Brian would be another miracle case of healing! You have to dare to believe sometimes and that’s what we did. The July 2020 scan was the best scan we ever had!! The cancer actually appeared to shrink! Things were looking the most positive since Brian’s diagnosis. It was such a relief and really allowed us to move forward more confidently that summer of 2020. Brian was doing very well and there was a break in covid cases as well! We were able to visit our friends April and Conrad on Belleville Lake, take a weekend trip down to Indianapolis for our younger son’s 25th birthday in July and in August Brian was able to enjoy a trip up to his favorite golf course (Arcadia Bluffs) and play 18 holes with Luke and two of his buddies. Another highlight was when Brian’s brother Ray orchestrated a fishing trip on Lake Michigan! To end the summer, we headed up to Mackinac Island with our oldest son R.J. and Brianna and grandkids for a long weekend. Then in September we welcomed our 4th grandchild, Landon!
But September 2020’s scan was not the news we wanted. It revealed cancer progression over to the other hemisphere of Brian’s brain. We quickly got second and third opinions on how best to treat this reoccurrence. I sent all of Brian’s records both to Cleveland Clinic and University of Iowa. Tumor boards from three different medical facilities agreed that the next treatment should be gamma knife radiosurgery and switching to a different oral chemotherapy. So the end of October Brian underwent four rounds of gamma knife radiosurgery and changed his chemo medication. During this time we were grateful to learn of our son Luke’s successful year completing research and R.J’s virtual commencement from Harvard Law School (with honors!) as well as his passing the Michigan State Bar.
But, unfortunately, some combination of the gamma knife radiosurgery and/or the cancer was just too much for Brian’s brain to handle and throughout the months of November and December, Brian’s decline was dramatic. We ended up in the ER at Henry Ford Hospital during the peaks of the Covid outbreaks trying to figure out what was causing Brian’s worsening symptom. In our case we were never given any clear conclusion as to why Brian’s symptoms were so aggressively getting worse while his MRI images didn’t match the dramatic decline. I guess we will never truly understand it all, which I believe is a part of the GBM story for many.
Friends and family decorated crosses for Brian in late 2020, and they were hung on trees in the church during the funeral service.
As December 2020 came to a close, our family was beginning to realize that the only way Brian was going to be healed was by going directly to God himself, in person, where he would have access to all the graces and power provided in Heaven through Christ our redeemer. On December 31, 2020 Brian (after a 14 month battle with GBM) had the ultimate NEW YEAR’s eve party by beginning his NEW LIFE with Christ in Heaven. I am 100% certain we will see Brian again, COMPLETELY restored and healthy! For now, we are the ones left to carry on his legacy and to help raise awareness and funding for brain cancer research. I know this makes Brian smile….knowing his story can make a positive difference in other people’s lives! Blessing to every single person who reads our story. We love you!
For assurance of Heaven, read this book that changed my life:
“Heaven” by Randy Alcorn