Help Brandon Get Back On His Feet!
Our family never imagined we'd be given a reason to create a GoFundMe page, but all that changed on July 26, 2016, when Brandon was involved in a head-on-collision.
The news that Brandon had been airlifted from the Keys to Miami's Jackson Ryder Trauma Hospital was just the beginning of our unthinkable journey. Brandon arrived at Ryder with collapsed lungs, broken ribs and femur, lacerations to many internal organs, and multiple bone fractures, but nothing could prepare us for the devastating news that Brandon had suffered severe brain injury. As doctors worked hard to control the swelling in Brandon's brain, all we could do was wait and pray for a miracle to happen. Weeks passed before Brandon emerged from his coma, but he remained in a disorder of consciousness unable to breathe, move, eat, speak, or perform any function. On August 27, 2016, we celebrated his 23rd birthday at Jackson Memorial Hospital, but Brandon showed no signs of awareness and his doctors gave us little hope, if any, as the days turned into weeks.
In September, Brandon was transferred to Promise, a long-term acute care facility where he started to show signs of alertness. Within a month, his feeding tube and trach were removed and he was attempting to formulate words. Although he was still unable to move any part of his body or speak, we were seeing changes that gave us hope. In November, he was transferred to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital where his therapists all worked hard to help him regain his speech and ability to move. Brandon gave his mom an early Christmas gift when he spoke his first words in December. We all worked hard to make this happen and it was truly a moment of joy and tears and renewed hope for Brandon’s recovery.
Then in January, his mom had him transferred to a neurorehabilitation facility in Orlando for specialized therapy and care. By March, Brandon had not progressed enough to go back to the Keys, so his mom decided to stay in Miami to get him all the therapy he needed.
Today is Brandon’s 24th birthday, and his video shows that his journey is still a long one, but every step has brought him closer to home and he can’t stop now.
This last year has given us a better understanding of the symptoms and pain of a brain injury. Brandon has shown us that a brain injury takes on a life of its own requiring intensive and extensive specialized therapy and care. And we realize that life may never be the same for Brandon, but he wants to go back home to the Keys where the sun and the sand made him happy. We just want to get him back on his feet and moving so he can better enjoy the salt life he loves and misses.
*If you would like to donate directly to his Gym, I am able Fitness, there is a tax write off. This can be through a check or clicking the link.
1. For Check: Just make sure to add Brandon Casas under the memo on a check. Made out to I am Able Fitnees (Therapy For Brandon Casas)
2. Visit this link: **Make Sure to Inlucde "Brandon Casas" under Special Instructions so that the money will go directly toward his therapy.
