The Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday was emotional for one San Antonio woman, and not just because the team lost.
Cancer patient Brandy Weaver is a big-time fan who thought she was just at a Cowboys watch party at a Dave and Buster’s.
However, the reality was so much better.
Y’all this story tonight, have your tissues READY! Brandy Weaver is battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, a hard diagnosis for the mom of 2. Her friend Eloise coordinated an incredible surprise from a special @dallascowboys player. pic.twitter.com/9ST5lkrEAV
— Leigh Waldman (@LeighWaldman) January 2, 2022
The crowd inside of a private watch party room at the restaurant and entertainment center was fired up.
“I’ve been a diehard Cowboys fan since I was a little girl. I grew up watching them,” Brandy said.
She thought the gathering was just about watching the game with the best group of Cowboys fans she knows because that’s what her good friend Eloise Hudson said it was.
“How can I get her with her friends all together in one group. And I thought, well to watch a Cowboys game, that’s appropriate,” Hudson, the surprise organizer, said.
It’s especially appropriate given Brandy’s love of QB Dak Prescott.
”I believe his mom has breast cancer and I do too, so I connect on that level with him. And I think he’s just a good motivator to his other teammates,” Brandy said.
What Brandy didn’t know is Eloise made up a contest that KSAT sponsored and we played along.
She had something special in store for Brandy at halftime.
“What’s up, Brandy, it’s Dak Prescott quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. I got wind that you just had your 40th birthday so I wanted to wish you a happy belated birthday but more importantly, heard about the fighter you are,” Dak Prescott said over a recorded video.
Her reaction was priceless.
“He mentioned my name and wished me well,” Brandy said with delight.
But there was more.
“In here is a check that’s going to cover your deductible for the year of 2022,” Erin Ercoline, the executive director of Thrivewell, a local nonprofit that supports cancer fighters like Brandy, said.
“We know for her, just lifting the burden that comes along with this diagnosis, if we can make it easier at any step of the journey we want to do that,” Ercoline added.
Since 2017, Brandy has been battling breast cancer. She’s only spent nine months in remission; however, her latest diagnosis is her hardest.
“My new life is that it is stage four, it’s in my bones, my brain, my pancreas, and my liver,” Brandy said.
It’s a day-by-day battle, but it’s made easier through support from family, friends, and the Cowboys, especially Dak Prescott.
“Wish you the best, tell you to continue to keep fighting, being strong,” Prescott said over video.
“This made my day, made my week, made my month,” Brandy said.
“Did it make your new year?” I asked.
“Oh, it made my new year, yes,” she replied.
Throughout her years battling breast cancer, Brandy has set goals for herself. Her last goal was to make it to 40 and she did that.
Her new goal is to take her kids Whitney and William to Disney World in March.