Help Brandon’s Family with Their Loss

UPDATE 12.30.2023

Exactly one month after entering the hospital, Brandon took his last breath with his wife, his oldest son and oldest brother by his side. He was 39 years’ old. We don’t know much about exactly how it happened but know it was a mix of pneumonia, sepsis and heart failure that moved into kidney and liver failure that ultimately took his life.

I am asking you to please consider sharing and/or donating if possible to help his family navigate this unfathomable loss and navigating the aftermath without him. Thank you so much for everyone who has already sent prayers, strength, donations and love to Brandon and our whole family. Your support means more than we could express.

Much love an appreciation,

Jill

UPDATE 12.13.2023

The last few days have been a wild ride. Here’s a quick breakdown of the main points. Brandon is still in the Erlanger Baroness hospital. He’s off the vent and trach and the infection appears to be gone, but he still has the “bigger” Impella Device doing his heart stuff for him and is hooked up to a slower type dialysis machine for his kidneys. There are 2 different Impella machines and this one is the “big dog” and would allow him to be up and mobile - with lots of assistance. BUT, he can’t until he’s off dialysis. I have no clue when that will be, but the kidneys ARE improving.

He definitely gets better actual rest and sleep when he’s OFF the vent bc his breathing is in his natural rhythm. But his heart is still only functioning at about 10-15% so they are trying to transport him to Vanderbilt in Nashville to basically live until he gets a heart transplant. He has the rare O- blood type, so this could easily be months. His wife and kids live about 45 mins from his current hospital but when he’s transferred he will be THREE HOURS away. She hasn’t been able to actually communicate with him in almost a full week now either as he was just extubated yesterday but still isn’t really awake yet. He also has been restrained almost that entire time bc his natural subconscious wants to scratch and remove the stuff that’s irritating (like the Impella that’s SEWN INTO HIS HEART) or the tubes going into his neck or side. It’s miserable for him and expectedly terrible to see your loved one like that.

On a positive note though, the nurses and doctors keep commenting on how strong he is - aside from how horribly sick his heart is. The rest of his body is working towards doing the right stuff so that’s a great sign. And, he is getting EXCELLENT care there. I’m beyond grateful for the men and women working in the CCU there. They’re a special breed of humans and so patient and considerate while being on point with their care and treatment of Brandon.

So, please keep praying and sending love and strength to his wife and family. They have a LOOOOONG road ahead and have to traverse what NO young family would expect to be doing - especially during the holidays. Please share the heck out of this so they can get help if at all possible as well. THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR WARRIORS!!!

-Jill

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11.29.2023

Hey there!

My name is Jill and I am starting this fundraiser for my little brother, Brandon, and his family. Brandon has had heart issues since he was a child and had his first ablation done when he was just 26 years old. He is currently in congestive heart failure, paired with sepsis at only 39 years old. He went into a local hospital last Monday where they diagnosed him as needing antibiotics and sent him home. 2 days later he got increasingly worse and went to a larger hospital where he was admitted to the ER and then moved to yet another hospital to be admitted directly into the CCU. There, they diagnosed him with sepsis and congestive heart failure with his ejection fraction (aka heart function) at 10%. For reference, normal EF is 45-70%, <25% is severely impaired and <15% puts you as a transplant candidate. As a transplant candidate he would be at the top of the list with his otherwise good health and young age, but he's also an O- blood type, making it even more difficult and rare to get.

As of today, they moved him onto a trach and ventilator, so they can more easily provide the treatments he needs.

Brandon is the father to 3 amazing boys, Ayden, Airo and Atlas, step-dad to a beautiful daughter, Addison and married to the love of his life, Callie. She has been traveling to and from the ICU every day for a full week now since he was admitted on 11/29/2023. Brandon is the source of income for their family and with the holidays, bills and daily expenses starting to really build up, they are in need of any assistance we can provide.

So I am asking that you please consider donating anything you can and are able to, in order to help them through a very tough time. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and taking my brother and his family into consideration.