Brody And Kai’s Story

Brody is the older brother of  Kai. Kai is a campaign kid, with Campaign One At A Time.

I met Brody, Kai and the rest of their family at Campaign One At A Time's gala last year. I recently asked him to share with me some of his perspective on being the older brother to someone fighting a thalamic brain tumor as a child.

Brody's brother, Kai does not take medicine anymore. He finished medicine a year ago, but will be getting surgery for a brain tumor. Kai goes to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. 

Kai has been fighting cancer for 9 years now. Brody remembers being five when his brother was diagnosed. He is 14 now, and is still watching his brother fight. 

Brody said he didn't have any questions about Kai’s diagnosis because “...my parents are very open with us and answer any questions we may have.”

Brody told me, considering he was so young when his brother was diagnosed, he doesn't really remember what that day was like. “I was 5, so that day is pretty foggy to remember.”

When asked if the diagnosis has affected his life positively, he said that it has. In his words, “we spend so much more time together as a family, making fun memories.” 

Kai’s diagnosis didn't change Brody’s view on life but he did say,  “I don't get stressed about small things because I know what's really important in the grand scheme of things.” I think that's a very good piece of advice, to not worry about the little things.

Brody's advice to any sibling in a similar situation is to “Try to focus on spending time with your siblings and family. Cause one day you might look back and regret not taking advantage of the time you had together.” I think his advice can work for everyone, everyone's time is limited, always take advantage of the time you have now, and never stop doing what you want to do.

Kai’s advice to anyone else battling any illness is to “Always believe that God will help you pull through.” I think Kai is very smart and brave.

I think Brody and Kai are very strong for being able to share their story, it takes a lot of strength to share how you feel and how you view the world. I think Kai is very smart for being able to say that God can help you through whatever you're going through, because I agree that God can help you, even in little ways with little things, sometimes you don't notice but God will always be there. 

I am thankful Kai and Brody could share their story with me, and I am thankful that I could share it with you. I hope you enjoyed reading their story.

Thank you for reading my blog.

If you know someone who would like to share their story as a child fighting cancer or a life threatening disease or if you or your sibling fought childhood cancer or a life threatening disease, email me at  zoie@campaignoaat.org 

Have a wonderful life! -Zoie