Brixtin or Brixi as many friends & family like to call him, is a miracle baby and true gift from God.

Family and friends have taken on the project of seeking support on behalf of the Glubrecht Family for

Brixtin age 2. Michael and Sahara fell in love in 2013 and tried hard for many years to start their own

little family. After many years of trying and almost giving up completely, they were blessed and

welcomed their miracle in October of 2022. Sahara and Michael were finally the parents they had

dreamed to be. Since the day he was born Michael & Sahara have showered Brixi with unconditional love

and everything he could ever possibly need. Fortunately, Sahara has been able to stay home & raise

Brixi. He truly has become her whole world. Her instinct and relentless advocating for her son has led

us to where we are today.

Brixtin was diagnosed at birth with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. At 3 months old Brixi

received his first set of hearing aids. It was an emotional yet joyous day as Michael & Sahara got to

experience Brixtin truly hearing their voices with clarity for the first time. Brixtin was enrolled into the

Early Intervention Program through Opportunity Foundation and started receiving therapies to assist him

and his parents as they navigated this new journey. Brixi was taught sign language to help communicate

his needs. Brixtin also started seeing his teacher Mrs. Nicole from the ND school for the deaf to help the

family navigate their new lives with an infant who is hard of hearing. Genetic testing had been brought

up and the family started looking into it.

Brixi has grown into a strong willed, smart, loving, and kind little boy. In late 2023 while living in

Louisiana Sahara grew concerned about a lump Brixtin had developed on his back, the pediatricians kept

pushing it off as normal and said there was nothing to worry about. Sahara knew better and when the

family moved back to North Dakota in the summer of 2024 she took him to his pediatrician that he had

been with since birth. They immediately got X Rays, which came back to show he had a curvature in his

low spine, so they got a referral to a pediatric orthopedic specialist where they learned Brixtin had

Neuromuscular Scoliosis. Sahara and Michael had become concerned about a few other things they

were noticing and 2024 became a year of so many challenges and changes in their lives. Sahara had to

aggressively advocate at every turn for testing, when she felt the specialists were pushing her off as just

another first time, helicopter mom. Sahara knew something was wrong and would not take no for an

answer. Insurance battles began and all the family wanted was to help this truly amazing little boy.

Meanwhile, Brixi grew to love books, his trampoline ball pit, using video chat to see his family,

and developed a laugh that could take over any room. In late 2024 Sahara became extremely ill and

fought for her own life after going septic, she is still facing many medical battles for herself but has not

let that stop her once from advocating and fighting for her son. As if that wasn't enough for this little

family to face, in December Michael unfortunately lost his mother, they were so grateful to be able to

make it to Washington to see her before her passing and for Brixi to get to spend the last few days with

his grandmother. Then Christmas Eve Sahara unexpectedly lost her grandfather to whom she was very

close with her entire life.

In January 2025, Brixtin had become increasingly ill and through many ER visits in Williston and

visits to the pediatrician it seemed they could not find a “cause”. Multiple times it was written off as a

“bug”. Brixtin grew increasingly lethargic and was not the same little firecracker that he usually was.

Sahara & Michael made the decision to take Brixtin to Bismarck to the Sanford hospital that had a

children's unit. After checking into the ER Brixtin was immediately admitted for Rhinovirus, bilateral

bacterial pneumonia, ear infection, a sporadic heart rate, and being unable to maintain stable oxygen

levels. Brixi was so fortunate to have an amazing team on the children's floor. They stopped at nothing to

get answers for the family and help Brixi feel better. An abnormal Echocardiogram and EKG revealed that

Brixtins heart was not functioning properly among all the other issues he was facing. Brixtins doctor

spoke with Sahara and Michael about genetic testing, which they were already in the process of, she told

them she wanted to rush a few things and took blood and urine samples and sent them off. After a few

days on medication Brixtin was getting back to his “normal” self and the doctors felt he was stable

enough to go home. They were sent back home with referrals and a better understanding of what their

little one might be facing when the genetics results came back. Michael and Sahara learned days later

that Brixtin was diagnosed with Mucopolysaccharidosis type 1, a rare inherited genetic disorder that

affects the body’s ability to break down complex sugars which leads to progressive damage of the brain

and multiple organs and systems. They learned of the 3 types of MPS1 and unfortunately Brixi had the

most severe of the three called Hurler Syndrome. As you can imagine their world was forever changed in

the blink of an eye. Hurler syndrome is incurable at this time and the treatment options available are

severe and expensive. Receiving chemo to kill his immune system followed by a bone marrow transplant

is the primary way to extend Brixis life.

After a short fight with insurance, they were approved for referrals to the University of

Minnesota Children's Hospital where they have a department that specializes in MPS1 with all the

specialists Brixi will need. Brixtin has his first appointment on February 26, 2025, to meet his team that

will be taking care of him and start receiving enzyme replacement therapy until they have a bone

marrow donor for him. This first admission will go over everything the family needs to know and what to

expect in the coming months for their little family. It is an evolving situation on what his treatment team

and parents decide is the best for him moving forward. Unfortunately, during a lot of this Michael will

have to choose between being with his family at the hospital and working to provide for his family as he

has been the sole financial provider since Brixtin was born. Michael is fortunate to work for a company

that is understanding and has made it known that they will help in any way that they can. If Michael

chooses, he can take days off without pay. Since this is the family's only income, it would make a deep

impact.

We have no idea at this point what all the costs will be. They are in the process of getting

approval to stay in the Ronald Mcdonald house that is close to their hospital, unfortunately it is a first

come first serve situation. They will have housing, medical, gas, food, and other expenses during this

surreal time in their lives. As family and friends, we all want to do whatever we can to help the family as

much as possible so that they can solely focus on Brixtin and not have the worry of their financial

situation at the forefront of their minds. We ask that everyone send prayers and if you are able or want

to help ease the financial burden on the Glubrecht Family's lives, this is your opportunity. While we understand times are tough for everyone right now, this family needs us.