CANCER WARRIOR SPOTLIGHT: Brady

Brady was born with a Congenital Heart Defect called Aortic Stenosis and was in complete heart failure when he was born at just 34 weeks gestation. The Doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital told us that his only chance of survival would be a complete Heart Transplant. He was quickly added to the transplant waiting list, but while waiting Brady became even sicker. Brady needed a bridge to help him live until he received his miracle. That “bridge” was a left ventricular device called, The Berlin Heart Pump. This machine was brought over from Berlin, Germany. Brady was the first baby in Texas to be put on the machine and the smallest in the world at that time.

Just forty-eight hours after being placed on the Berlin Heart Pump we received the phone call that would forever change our lives. Brady was getting a new heart!  On September 29, 2005 Brady’s new heart started beating. We have always been told by the Doctors that “A transplant is not a cure, it is trading one disease for another”. And over the past three years we have added more Doctors to his list of specialists that he sees, including TCH Cancer Center.

In 2016 Brady had to be withdrawn from school because he was going to be receiving weekly infusions that would suppress his immune system even more than it already was. As you can imagine he was devastated. We were taking him from his only way of social interaction with friends. He LOVES people. Although Brady stayed positive most of the time, he hated the travel back and forth from Houston. It was through the Cancer Center that we were able to connect with Brittany Hebert from Sky High. When Brady met Brittany there was an instant connection. Brady’s entire attitude changed. In fact, Brady fell in love with the entire Sky High team.

Sky High has been Brady’s saving grace! They lift his spirits every time they visit him while he is in the hospital or stuck during an infusion at clinic. They helped build his confidence. His trips to Houston have become exciting because he knows he will be able to see his “best friend” Brittany.  He thinks his trips now, should be planned around Sky High events because he doesn’t want to miss ANYTHING they are doing! He considers them his family, we all consider them apart of our family.