Bret Laczynski Brain Cancer Research Fund

On September 28, 2002, our son Bret was diagnosed with a very aggressive high risk Medulloblastoma at the age of 10 years old. The Ann & Robert H.

This is Bret's Story

Bret was like any other normal healthy 10 year old boy just starting the 4th grade. He was always a straight “A” student, favorite sports to play were soccer and golf and he was a diehard Cubs fan! Although Bret was a very shy boy by nature, once he felt comfortable with you, he loved to make you laugh with his one-of-kind sense of humor. You would have never thought that thi

s handsome little blonde- haired, green-eyed boy was about to face the biggest fight that no child should ever have to. Bret completed a total of 13 days into the school year when he started to experience unexplainable symptoms such as, vomiting for no apparent reason, extreme tiredness, neck pain, an unsteady gait and finally double-vision. About 4 weeks passed of pediatricians not having any answers, so we took him to the emergency room near our home in Indiana. On September 28, 2002, a CT Scan revealed a golf ball size mass in the fourth ventricle of his brain. An emergency surgery was performed that night to relieve the pressure (hydrocephalus) building up around his brain. We were told that due to the severity of his condition, Bret would need to be cared for by pediatric specialists. There was no time to even absorb what was actually happening to our son, a decision had to be made and fast. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (or formerly Children’s Memorial Hospital as we knew it then) is known all over the country as one of the top children’s hospitals in the world, and it is where we wanted him to be. Bret was airlifted the next day by Children’s Transport Team. We were greeted by the top physicians in their fields, Dr. Stewart Goldman (Hematology/Oncology) and Dr. Tadanori Tomita (Neurosurgery). An MRI determined our worst nightmare, Stage 4 Medulloblastoma brain cancer. Surgery was performed 3 days later to resect the tumor. As if things couldn’t have gotten any worse, the tumor had metastasized to the entire surface of his brain. We were given the very aggressive course of treatment plan, but were also told that Bret was not expected to survive. How, as parents, do you even begin to explain this to your very sick little boy, when we don’t understand it ourselves? So Dr. Goldman stepped up and very graciously explained to Bret, in only words a child could understand. His response was simply, “ok”. And so it began. Bret was to begin a six week regimen of brain and spinal radiation, followed by fourteen months of chemotherapy. All of that was halted when Bret starting seizing uncontrollably. In order to stop the seizures, he had to be put in a drug induced sleep with monitored anti-convulsant medications. It was then that he had a very dangerous allergic reaction to one of the medications

and developed yet another life-threatening condition called Stevens Johnsons. He was in the PICU for about 3 weeks until the rash cleared up and he was finally able to begin his treatments. Because he was still considered unstable, they transported him everyday, for the entire six weeks, by ambulance to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Once chemotherapy began, it was about 4 months before Bret was finally able to go home. He wasn’t home for more than a few days at a time, because the chemotherapy side effects were bringing him right back to the hospital. Many surgeries, line infections and low counts kept us coming for about the first 2 years of his illness. He was only able to complete about 7 months of chemotherapy as we almost lost him twice due to the aggressiveness of the treatments. With Dr. Goldman’s advice, we had to stop treatments and hope for the best. Bret defied all odds and as time went on, he was well enough to attend a school for children with disabilities. The Special Education Learning Facility (S.E.L.F.) of Valparaiso, IN welcomed Bret with open arms. Because Bret experienced so much trauma to his brain, he was developmentally delayed, suffered apraxia (oral motor difficulties limiting feeding), aphasia (limited communication), seizure disorder, adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism, just to name a few. You would expect someone faced with so many challenges to be angry with everything around him, but not Bret. He walked in that school with so much confidence, joy and happiness, that he greeted the entire class with a big “hi, Me Bret”, and hugged everyone in the room. It was from that moment on when they all realized what a special young man he was. There wasn’t a mean bone in his body. He just exuded love and compassion to everyone he met. Bret continued to thrive for the next 5 years or so. Throughout that time, we had occasional hospital stays for one thing or another, as well as routine scans and blood tests, but against all odds, he remained in a stable condition. Our happier days quickly came to a halt in late November of 2011. We started to notice subtle changes with his vision, like not being able to focus, depth perception and an increase in seizures. As these signs worsened, we discovered a lump on the back of his head and immediately called his doctors. His routine scan was moved up and completed in January of 2012. Our worst fear had come true, another brain tumor. A biopsy a few days later revealed that this was a post-radiation tumor called a Chondroblastic Osteosarcoma, one that we knew he had a 20% risk of developing from his treatments the first time around. We again were faced with all of our options for Bret and were advised by his doctors that given how he was unable to tolerate the treatments the first go –around, they did not want to put him through that trauma again. So we were forced to make the decision that no parent should ever have to make. We wanted to give our son the best quality of life he had remaining and to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. The doctors had expected it to be 2 to 3 months left, but once again, Bret did things his own way and fought until the very end. On May 25, 2012, our courageous young boy lost his fight and passed away so very peacefully. Bret was truly a “Miracle Boy” in everyway imaginable. The doctors never thought that he would have survived another 9 1⁄2 years, so this is how he was commonly referred to every time we were there. Throughout his entire journey, he never once let you know that he was in pain, or that he was angry or sad about having cancer. He always made sure to tell us “Love You More” many times throughout the day. He has touched so many lives and continues to inspire people everywhere with his strength, courage, love and compassion, that it is why we were driven to start The Bret Laczynski Brain Cancer Research Fund in his honor. It is what Bret would have wanted to help in whatever way he could, so no child should ever have to suffer like he did. It is with great pride that I can call him my son and will continue to keep his memory alive. “Thumbs Up” Bret and “We Love You, We Love You More”!

Photos from Bret Laczynski Brain Cancer Research Fund's post

05/30/2026

DAY 30 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

When He Gets Recognition on The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago’s Heroes For Life Wall 🩶🎗️

05/29/2026

DAY 29 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 😇💛🩶🎗️

14Years Ago Today, at Bret’s Funeral, The Most Beautiful Rainbow I Will Ever See 🌈❤️

The Infamous Rainbow, You Can Ask Anyone That Was There That Day To Share Their Experience. It Was Quite The Miracle! Bret’s Way Of Letting Us Know He Was Safe In God’s Arms. 🥰 I Couldn’t Have Asked For A More Comforting and Loving Gift From My Boy.❤️

Love You More Bret 🩶🎗️🩶🎗️🩶

05/28/2026

DAY 28 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

This Photo Was Taken On A Mother’s Day, It’s One Of My Absolute Favorites 🥰 We Were At Redamaks in New Buffalo, Bret Just Wanted Milk 🥛 (Radiation & Chemo Destroyed All Of His Ability To Enjoy Food Ever Again) It’s All He Ever Asked For When We Went Out To Restaurant’s And He Would Only Drink A Few Sips, Then Tell You, “Done.”

I Remember Literally Everything About What This Boy Went Through For Almost 10 Years, (More Than Half His Life) And He Did It All With This Priceless Smile On His Face 😊☺️💙

I Can’t Help But Look At Him, Let Alone Any Child That Had To Endure What He Did And Not Want To Do Something To Help Them Live A Healthier Life. My Heart Won’t Allow Me To Ever Give Up ♥️🩶🎗️

05/27/2026

DAY 27 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

05/26/2026

DAY 26 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

This Is Bret Giving Me His Signature “Thumbs Up.” It Was His Way Of Letting Us All Know That He Was “OK”, Even When He Really Wasn’t. He Never Once Complained Throughout His Entire Illness, Only Smiles, Hugs & Kisses And An “I Love You More” Just So We Wouldn’t Feel Sad. If It Wasn’t For His Radiant Attitude, I Don’t Think We Would Have Dealt With It Well At All.

We Spent A Lot Of Time On The Oncology/Hematology Floor At Children’s And Every Child We Met Greeted You With the Same Smiling Faces 😊 Those Faces Changed My Life Forever. 🩶🎗️❤️

05/25/2026

DAY 25 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

It Has Been 14 Years, To The Day, Since I Watched You Take Your Last Breath. A Vision I Will Never Forget and A Feeling I Will Always Feel Deep Inside. Why? Because When You Took Your Last Breath, I Felt Like I Had Taken My Last As Well. 💔

I Wanted To Go With You, The Mother in Me Didn’t Want You To Be Alone or Afraid. But Instead, You Gave Me A Part Of Your Soul and I Knew Right Then, You Needed Me To Be Strong and Let You Go. You Were Letting Me Know That You Needed Me Here To Carry On and Do Amazing Things in Your Name.

I Will Always Selfishly Want You Here, To Share In All The Joyish Things That Have Happened Over The Years. But Then I Realize, You Have Been Here All Along.

You Were Here When Your Little Nephew Bryce Was Born and When Your Sweet Little Niece Lainey Was Born Too 💙🩷
You Were Here When Difficult Circumstances Forced Us To Move Away From Everyone We Loved. You Were Here When Your Younger Brothers Graduated From H.S. and College With Honors and When Your Brother Bailey Married Your Beautiful Sister-in-Law Kayla. ❤️

We All Feel Your Presence, We All Feel Your Love and Guidance. How Could We Not, You Have and Always Will Watch Over and Protect The Ones You Love.
You’re Our Guardian Angel and We Will Always Keep You In Our Hearts. We Miss You So Much. 😇 🌈

Love You More Bret ❤️

05/24/2026

DAY 24 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

Even When He Lost His Hair, Still A Smiling Handsome Boy 💙

This Photo Was Taken On 2/1/03, The Day I Married Bret’s Favorite Man For Me, Jeff Hood ♥️
Now Once Again, You’d Never Know Behind That Big Smile On His Face, That He Was Suffering…Nope, He Gave Me His “Thumbs Up” and Happily Was My Best-man and Bailey Was Jeff’s.

We Knew He Was Toughing It Out For Us So We Made It A Very Short Ceremony and Headed Home Only To Change Quickly and Head Right Up To Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital (Now Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago).
Bret Was Diagnosed With A Portacath Line Infection, Which Required A Surgical Procedure To Remove The Infected Line, Be Hospitalized To Treat The Infection and Then Another Surgery To Implant Another Line For His Chemotherapy Treatments. All-in-All, He Was Inpatient For 4 Weeks. 😞

The Strength, Courage, Determination and Love Of This Boy Never Seized To Amaze Me ❤️ He Wasn’t Going To Let Anything Come In Between His Mom Marrying The Man He So Lovingly Nicknamed “Hoodsie” 🥰
We Know In Our Hearts That In Bret’s Short Life Here On Earth, He Was Set Out To Make Wonderful Things Happen For The People He Loved Most And Wanted To Make Certain Everyone, Especially Mom, Was Going To Be Loved And Taken Care Of When He Had To Leave Us. ❤️‍🩹💛🎗️🩶🎗️

05/23/2026

DAY 23 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

It’s That Time Of Year When Everyone Is Sharing Their Graduating Senior’s Photos. Well Thanks To Our Dearest Friend Amy Wright, We Were Able To Get Some Great Photos Of This Handsome Guy.
It Was A Cold One That Day and As I Mentioned Before, Bret Absolutely Hated Being Cold. 🥶 I Believe He May Have Mentioned It Once Or A Thousand Times To Us, Especially To Mom. So To Get Him To Cooperate, Amy Took Him Alone And Managed To Get Some Memorable Photos Of Him For Us To Cherish Forever. ♥️

I Will Never Forget All The Wonderful Things Our Amazing Friends, Like Amy, Have Done For This Sweet Boy and Continue To Show Their Support To This Day. He Touched Their Hearts In So Many Ways And He Made Us All Realize What Love Is Really About.

Thank You All From The Bottom Of My Heart For Your Neverending Love For This Special Boy, We Will Never Forget It. ❤️🩶🎗️

05/22/2026

DAY 22 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

Look At That Face! For The First Few Years Into Bret’s Illness, He Was not Well Enough To Attend School. He Was In The Hospital More Than He Was Home and Eventually Started Home Schooling 2-3 Times A Week.
This Photo Was Taken On The Very First Day He Was Well Enough To Go Back To A Normal School Environment. Although He Couldn’t Go Back To Chesterton, Where All His Friends Were, He Started At The Special Education Learning Facility (SELF) in Valparaiso.

I Was Hesitant At First, Because His Immune System Was Extremely Compromised and The Slightest Germ Could Set Him Right Back Into The Hospital. But When He Walked Into That Classroom, He Greeted Every Child With A Smile and A “Hi, Me, Bret!” He Loved Every Minute Of It and The School Staff Instantly Fell in Love With Him!
He Never Let Anyone Know That He Was, In Actuality, Struggling More Than They Were, Instead, He Helped The Staff By Pushing Other Kids Around In Their Wheel Chairs. He Became The Most Loved And Well Known Boy In That School. ❤️

He Attended His Remainder Years There Until His Secondary Diagnosis Of Another Brain Tumor, So SELF School Gave Him A Personal Graduation Ceremony. It Made Channel 7 ABC News And We Were Forever Grateful That Our Boy Was Able To Receive His H.S. Diploma.

These Memories Will Be Everlasting For Us. He Was Such An Inspiration And Loved By Everyone That Had The Pleasure Of Knowing Him.❤️

05/21/2026

DAY 21 OF BRAIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 🩶🎗️💛

In This Photo, You All See A Very Good Looking Young Boy Posing For His Soccer Photo. He Was The Goalie and Loved Playing. What You Don’t See Or Don’t Know is That This Young Boy Had Been Very Sick Leading Up To This Photo, Extremely Tired, Vomiting, Head Pain and Very Weak.
He Started Missing A lot Of School and Unfortunately Was Not Well Enough To Play The One Sport That He Loved Anymore, BUT, That Didn’t Stop Him From Making Us Take Him For His Team Photos. He Couldn’t Play That Day and We Went Back Home Only To See Him Deteriorate Further into an Illness That Doctors Still Couldn’t Determine What Was Going On With This Perfectly Healthy Young Boy.
This Was The Beginning Of An Almost 10 Year Battle With Pediatric Brain Cancer That Ultimately Took His Beautiful and Healthy Young Life 💔
🩶🎗️🩶🎗️🩶🎗️🩶🎗️🩶

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Location

Atlanta

Website

http://www.thebretlaczynskibcrf.com/

Address

Atlanta, GA