Breighden Michael

Hello, everyone! My name is Michelle Brothers and this is my son, Breighden :) My soon-to-be (I'm working on it! ;) ) fiance Bryce, our sons Oakley James and Breighden Michael, and I would like your help! 

On May 10, 2011, we went to our 20 week appointment to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. Instead, we got a referral to a specialist in Newburgh, Indiana because our baby looked much smaller than he should. We went to the specialist on May 18, 2011 and found out our baby boy had Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus, among a couple other issues that they couldn't pinpoint until he was born.



On August 8, 2011, Breighden was born around 5 AM via c-section weighing in at 4 pounds 0.01 ounces. He was brought immediately to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis where he stayed until April of 2012. 

We learned that Breighden had a cluster of birth defects collectively called OEIS (Omphalocele, Exstrophy, Imperforate Anus, Spinal) complex. He has a chromosomal abnormality where one of his chromosomes started deleting itself. He also has Arnold Chiari 2 (part of his brain is lodged into his spinal canal), hydrocephalus (water on the brain), Spina Bifida with myelomeningocele (thoracic region, leaving him permanently paralyzed), Bladder/Cloacle Extrophy (his bladder grew outside of his body in two pieces, along with part of his bowel), Imperforate Anus (he doesn't have one), clubbed feet, displastic left kidney (it doesn't work) and two hernias. 

So far, Breighden has had a couple major surgeries and a couple minor ones. The major ones being - Two surgeries on his back to remove the myelomeningocele (it grew back the first time), one to place a permanent colostomy, one to close his bladder plate, and one to give him a VA shunt to drain some of the fluid on his brain.



Today, Breighden is a happy and healthy 3 year old. He started preschool at Kidstuff Daycare this year and he is definitely keeping them on their toes! His favorite phrase is, "I'll kick your butt!" and he absolutely loves to eat! MAN can this kid eat! He loves his stuffed animals and loves to play with toys that have doors, I'm not sure why. :) This October, Breighden has two more big, very important surgeries. The one on the 17th, they are going to be making some cuts on his pelvis, to get him ready for the surgery on the 27th. This will take 3-4 hours. The surgery on the 27th, they are going to remove his non-working kidney, repair his hernias, put his bladder back inside of his body, close him up, and do a little reconstruction of his genitalia (they aren't going to complete it, just give him a little start until he gets older), and fix his pelvis. This surgery will take 12-13 hours. They say best case scenario, he'll be able to come home around Christmas.



Being up at Riley for so long almost killed us financially the last time he went. Every time he goes and stays even for a weekend, it sets us back pretty far, then we're playing catch-up all month. That combined with our car (it's a very unreliable Jeep Liberty that we keep dumping money into and it keeps messing up), I'm a worried wreck.

I hate asking for help, I hate feeling like I'm asking for a handout. That being said, we need a little bit of help. Money raised will go towards living expenses for me to be able to stay in Indianapolis with Breighden while he goes through surgery and recovers, gas money so Bryce can get back and forth to Indianapolis on his days off, possibly even be able to take FMLA leave (unpaid) so he can stay with us, and maybe we can be able to put a little towards a downpayment on a reliable vehicle so we can get back and forth for appointments, bring Breighden back and forth to school, etc. when he gets out of the hospital. 

Again, I HATE asking for help, and it feels like I'm being selfish. I like to think we have everything under control and covered, but I honestly think I need to put my pride aside and receive help from anyone who is willing to give it.



Any donation or words of love and encouragement would be greatly appreciated by our family. We are good people who are just trying to make sure our bright, happy, loving son is taken care of in the best possible way. Thank you again for reading this! Remember to send good vibes/prayers our way during the next few months, we sure could use them! If you would like to follow Breighden and his crazy self, here is the link for his Facebook page:



Breighden Michael Howell

I don't update it as much as I should, so if you like, you can always add me to Facebook to keep up with him as well!

Michelle Brothers