Colleagues rally around Mayo nurse and his family following acute leukemia diagnosis

By Mayo Clinic staff

Scott Brandes has always held his colleagues at Mayo Clinic in high regard. But when a sudden illness struck him, he gained a greater appreciation for the care he received at Mayo and the support from co-workers.

Scott, a nurse in the Integrated Clinical Studies Unit, and his wife, Shannon Brandes, a certified registered nurse anesthetist in Anesthesiology, both work at Mayo Clinic in Florida. They met when they were working as nurses in the Surgical ICU.

Scott's health issues began in November 2023 with intense pain in his muscles and joints in different parts of his body. He then began to experience intermittent night sweats and low-grade fevers.

"Due to the persistent pain, I was taking Tylenol and ibuprofen daily and continuing to work," he says.

When the over-the-counter medications didn't quite do the trick, he scheduled an appointment with a primary care professional. There was a battery of tests that followed.

When the test results came, Scott received a call directing him to go to the Emergency Department immediately. He was admitted to the 3N unit.

"Shannon and I sat together on my hospital bed in 3N in a room that exactly mirrored the inpatient rooms that we have both worked in and were told that I have acute leukemia," Scott says.

Little did they realize that the initial hospital stay would last 33 days or that subsequent stays would add up to more than 70 days in the same unit. The lengthy stay was especially difficult for the couple because Shannon was 10 weeks pregnant with their first child.

Finding love and support from colleagues

During that time the Brandeses learned the true nature of the relationships they'd built with their co-workers at Mayo.

"I work with whom I can only describe as some of the greatest co-workers in the world," Scott says. "My diagnosis was met with immediate support from my co-workers, my wife’s co-workers, and friends that both she and I have made during our time at Mayo. I had friends I’ve known from years of working together stop by my inpatient room to say hi, lift up my mood, and even deliver medications for my care. They came by nearly every day to bring me gifts and cards, decorate my room, and take care of me in more ways than I could say and in ways I will never forget."

The support from Shannon's department was immediate as well. Her co-workers signed up to coordinate making lunches for her so that she could visit her husband on her lunch break every day to eat with him.

"This was so helpful," Scott says. "She was between my room, her job and stopping by at our house for those first 33 days. I was limited to only 3N due to my neutropenic status."

A few days after being admitted to the hospital, Scott joined a video call for a routine prenatal ultrasound at 11 weeks and saw the baby moving on the screen for the first time.

"The contrast of seeing that for the first time while being confined to my hospital room and starting the intense induction chemotherapy, as the doctors would call it, just to hold on to some hope that my child would grow to know me was overwhelming," he says.

He taped the ultrasound pictures right next to a board where he tracked his daily lab numbers that were decreasing with chemotherapy. It was a visual reminder to hold on to hope.

On Thanksgiving Day, Scott was in his hospital room with his wife when he learned the gender of their baby. They were going to have a boy.

The couple was thrilled to share the news with the care team.

"Sharing in the expectant joy with everyone who had learned of our expanding family was a memorable moment," Scott says.

Preparing for a bone marrow transplant

Scott was able to go home shortly before Christmas, but a bone marrow biopsy still showed a small amount of residual leukemia. His oncology team recommended a bone marrow transplant. It wasn't something that he looked forward to.

"Having worked with solid organ transplant patients on 4S, the thought of a transplant terrified me as I remembered what it was like caring for those patients," he says.

While preparing for the transplant, Scott began a continuous immunotherapy infusion and was hospitalized two more times. This time, the faces by his bedside were not strangers to him anymore.

"Each time I came to be admitted, the nurses on 3N recognized me and my wife upon these admissions and were friendly faces to us," he says. "The nursing team on that floor is highly specialized and just incredible. They commented on my wife's growing belly and encouraged me as I anxiously anticipated my upcoming bone marrow transplant."

He put his faith in the team and prepared for what he says was an indescribable experience.

"I relied on the knowledge of the 3N team, my family's and my co-workers' encouragement, feeling my baby move, and my wife's department again providing meals for her," he says.

With a successful transplant under his belt, Scott was able to go home a month later. Among the belongings he packed to take home, his care team made sure he had something to read to his baby boy when he arrived.

"The 3N team all signed a Dr. Seuss book for our son and gave it to us on discharge day," he says.

Building an exceptional bond even before birth

The Brandeses welcomed their baby boy, Julian, just 24 days later, and Scott was there to witness his arrival.

"Knowing that our son has been with us through all this time — from diagnosis until transplant — gave way to a deep connection to him prior to his first breath," he says. "Before he was even born, he helped us get through the hardest point in our lives. He brought us so much hope and joy during that time, and motivated me through the six months of diagnosis, initial treatment, rehabilitation, transplant and rehab."

"We have a bond as a family of three that we could have never expected, and Mayo Clinic is a huge part of our story together," he says.

Importance of donor registration

The Brandes family is grateful for Scott's stem cell donor and stresses the importance of registering to become a donor. Their hope is that more people will consider joining the National Marrow Donor Program and potentially be the match for someone and change their life. Learn how to become a donor on the National Marrow Donor Program website.

Learn more

Learn more about acute leukemia and find a clinical trial at Mayo Clinic.

Join the Blood Cancers and Disorders Support Group or the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) and CAR-T Cell Therapy Support Group on Mayo Clinic Connect, an online community moderated by Mayo Clinic for patients and caregivers.

Also, read these articles:

• New research discovers a new combination of therapy for people with a type of leukemia, leading them to live longer
• FISH testing helps detect unseen cancer cells
• Trust and timing: How a bone marrow transplant gave a man extra birthdays to celebrate
• Latest advancements in treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

A version of this article was originally published on Mayo Clinic's In the Loop blog.