Brian Barczyk

A friend of mine from Tennessee stopped in the other day and we were talking about people we know in the reptile industry. When I asked about Brian Barczyk, he told me that Brian has pancreatic cancer. I was shocked. Been out of the loop myself for quite a while, so I haven't really been following any news about much of anything.

Pancreatic cancer has a very low survival rate, from what I understand. I went to YouTube and watched some of the later videos Brian had posted, and some were extremely heart breaking. I tried reaching out to Brian, but haven't received any responses. I guess a lot of people are doing that, and I imagine this is damn overwhelming to him. So doesn't surprise me much not to hear from him. Used to do a bit of business with him back in the SerpenCo days.

The world seems to REALLY suck lately........................

I'm sorry, I thought you knew. Obviously you had more important things on your plate.

Yeah, well, at least I don't have to tell Connie about it. She liked Brian too. It would have been a burden I would just as soon not have to put on her mind. She always had such empathy for other people.

He just went into surgery this week to remove blood clots. He looks a little better than he did earlier this year. It is such something very hard to deal with.

Blood clots are apparently not unusual when chemo drugs are involved. What makes them immediately dangerous is when they migrate to the lungs or the brain.

Connie had one in one of her legs after she had her initial surgery, but it was small and not considered as life threatening, so she was put on a blood thinner (Eliquis) to deal with it. She stayed on that blood thinner for the entire time while on chemo.

Must be some serious blood clots in Brian to have them surgically removed.

I really feel for the guy and everyone around him. As someone told me when Connie was first diagnosed, "Get ready for both of you to go through Hell." Man, he wasn't joking.........

Just today I took down the quite long "garland" that Connie had made from all of her medical ID bands she had accumulated while fighting her cancer. And that didn't even include the ones she got at her first cancer treatment center. I didn't know what to do with it, so I just wrapped it around the container with her cremains in it.

I just saw today on Facebook that he had multiple strokes today and was in the hospital.

Damn. I didn't like the sound of him having surgery for blood clots.

2023 is going to be a crappy year to the very end, isn't it?

https://www.facebook.com/10005426188...0535751924477/

Heart breaking........ Doesn't look good for him. He likely has more clots developing in his body from the cancer.

I sure got my fill of seeing Connie with the oxygen tube in the nostrils over the past few months before she passed. Really wish I would never have to see another person have to have one of those to help them keep breathing.

As for this being a "happy" New Year, well, so far it really isn't........

This was posted a couple hours ago. Brian is under hospice care now. He pre-recorded most of this, knowing his health was declining.

I met him once; I had gone to pick up a carpet python I bought from him. I opened the bag to check it out, and it promptly clamped onto my hand! Everyone was just standing around, so Brian went and got me some paper towels. He was trying not to laugh, but then I started laughing, so we joked about carpets for a couple minutes. Nice guy. It's so sad that he won't see the opening of the Legasea Aquarium.

https://youtu.be/xwQYlNbfHRY?si=XzF29R0fOtQyAUsu