My Brother Brad

Well, as many of you already know, my brother Brad has had one heck of a struggle this year. He had a liver transplant on March 27, 2008 and has been struggling to recover ever since. He has a 'wonderful' disease called Hepatitis C (the way in which he contracted it is not clear, nor does it matter), but he has had it for several years. Over the years, the Hep C has ravaged his liver making a liver transplant necessary. To our very ecstatic amazement, the transplant was quite successful... however, even as I type this, he is STILL fighting a very tough battle. The problem lies in the fact that even though he has a new liver, the disease still lives in his body and is now attacking the new liver. He's been in the hospital (about the 4th time back since the transplant) for over a week now and we thought that he would be able to go home today if his bilirubin (a yellow pigment that is excreted in the bile) had dropped. His bilirubin count is now at 41, an extremely high level and because of that, he is completely yellow. His skin, his eyes, the whole deal. He also is extremely thin and cannot seem to put any weight on (being a problem in and of itself). Currently, he tips the scale at 125 lbs. :-( Needless to say, I'm extremely worried about him and living so far away makes it even harder to deal with this situation.
Now, I have 3 brothers whom I love very much, but right now, my focus is on Brad. He and I have not been the closest of the kids. Heck, he and I are about as different as humanly possible... BUT, he is my brother and I love him! :-) It is in these troubled times that you realize what really matters the most. I would have to say that family definitely ranks pretty much on the top of the list! I mean, how much can one person endure?
I think back about all the fighting and stuff we did when we were younger and it all seems so trivial-- even funny! The picture I've included with this post is very special to me. For one, it's probably one of the ONLY pictures that I have just Brad and myself and for two, it's probably the last time I will ever wear a bikini! :-) But on a more serious note, I am thinking about him every second of every day and hoping that he will pull through this. He has been through SO much already and hopefully, there is not much more of these rough waters ahead.