Instagram story viewer> @johnwbrewer33> Tagged

John Brewer

@johnwbrewer33

528

followers

855

following

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇧🇸🗽
life imitates art 🎆
pursue discomfort 🐡
the world is beautiful 🏞️
@kalamazoocollege
@discomfortplus
@jbrewermoodboard

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

🇮🇹 🍷 ❤️

140

4

John is off to Rome for the semester.
It’s hard to see him go, but I could not be more proud.
Copious amounts of pasta photos required. 🇮🇹

154

7

3

16

3

5

The boys now have rings with Chris’ fingerprint inside and the reminder that we are always in this together and they are never alone.

Thanks @metal_art_studio for helping design these rings and for the kindness, compassion and laughter along the way.

Photo credit: @sambrewer65

136

13

“We’re in this together.”

That’s been the Brewer motto for many years.
Whenever we are going through something difficult, or headed off on another adventure, or just need to be reminded of who we are and what we do here, Chris reaches across the table for us to all connect and remind ourselves that we are a team.

This has never been so important as the current moment.

Chris has been in hospice care here at home for several weeks. He’s comfortable and happy, and seems to have no idea that his time here with us is coming to an end.

These are brutal days.
And beautiful days.
Days that feel so slow and so fast.
Days where we feel out of and outside of time.

Thank you for holding this space with us.

Photo credit: @sambrewer65

165

46

Summer!!!!!!!! It’s been 1 degree colder out this week so I’m reminiscing 🌸😍‼️

3

9

May and June dump 🧚‍♂️🦎‼️😆

3

12

Lovely people and places 🖼️🖼️🖼️

3

38

3

6

spreak dump ❄️

3

6

This last month has been a brutal one for the Brewers, and while this feels like such an odd space to share heavy news, I wanted to be sure all my people know.

In early February, after a trip to Scotland, Chris began experiencing a decline in health that eventually landed him in the hospital, where imaging revealed a large mass in his brain.

The tumor spans both hemispheres, and has been deemed inoperable. On February 17th, the surgeon was able to conduct both a biopsy, and a cranial ablation that significantly reduced the size of the tumor on the right side. Preliminary results of the biopsy show that we are dealing with a high grade glioma, an extremely aggressive form of cancer.

Many questions remain, and we have yet to get a firm prognosis. We’ve been told that he will have a second ablation sometime in the next two weeks, however, the specifics remain vague.

For now, he is recovering from surgery at Mary Free Bed, one of the top four rehab facilities in the country, that just so happens to be a few blocks from our home. It’s been good to catch our breath as we continue to wait for answers from the biopsy results, surgeon, and oncology team.

This limbo period is bittersweet, and we are using it to soak up the time, reflecting with so much gratitude on our relationships and our life together. Chris has gotten excellent medical care, is in good spirits, and is working hard at therapy. The boys and I (and Charley!) are getting so much love and support from our community and are so grateful for the help in this disorienting and painful time.

The ever wise Anne Lamott says that the best prayers she knows are, “Help me. Help me. Help me” and “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” These prayers have been like breathing for me; hardly conscious thoughts, but sustaining me all the same. Whatever is ahead, we are in it together, and it means the world to us to have such strong support from our global and local family.

So much love,
 Rachel

For any updates, please email chrisbrewerupdates@gmail.com
and will be added to the email chain.

131

58