Brad is a lifelong resident of Lees Summit Missouri, a huge University of Missouri Tigers’ fan, and co-founded the Lees Summit youth football program, serving as it’s commissioner for several years. A highball basketball player himself, Brad has also served as a youth recreational-league coach and as a referee for all levels of youth basketball as well as Kansas City area college games. Professionally, he has worked in medical/tissue/cancer diagnostic/sales/training roles for 28 years.

Keely grew up in Stilwell, Kansas and loves riding horses and attempting to grow flowers, fruits, and vegetables. She’s worked as a nurse for 15 years in outpatient as well as cardio-thoracic surgery and Emergency Departments for multiple Kansas City Metro hospitals.

The couple has a combined total of 6 grown children – Logan, Aspen, Taryn, Liam, Mya, and Lexi – aged 18-28, who all live within driving distance their residence in Pleasant Hill, Missouri.

Since his diagnosis of B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in June, 2025, Brad and Keely have been overwhelmed by the flood of support they’ve received from family, friends, coworkers as well as the healthcare team at The University of Kansas, and other Leukemia patients.

His treatment so far has included countless lab-draws, CT-scans, brain, cardiac and lung testing/ imaging, 3 months of chemotherapy treatments, 7 lumbar punctures (“spinal-taps”), 5 bone marrow biopsies, 5 weeks of inpatient hospitalization, CAR-T therapy, and continuous/varying levels of quarantine/neutropenic precautions to ward off infection due to his compromised immune system.

His imminent future treatment plan includes a bone marrow transplant with a minimum of 30 additional days of inpatient hospitalization as well as 100 days of post-transplant 24/7 observation/monitoring which requires that he and Keely stay in accommodations closer to the hospital in case of transplant rejection/medical emergency.

The couple would like to thank each person who has supported them during this journey in any way – well-wishes by phone-call, text, email, greeting cards, food deliveries, and prayers, as well as gifts of time and resources have been an uplifting current for them during a time which has otherwise been exceptionally difficult. Recently, Brad’s lab results and imaging have shown that he is moving towards remission and on a path to healing!