Bren is a fun loving boy. He can find the humor in all situations and every single person he meets is his friend. He love all things related to the Packers, Mickey, and video games and is truly content with anything as long as he is near his family.
He is the most determined child I have ever met. He has big goals and big ideas for this life and it’s such a joy watching him grow and learn. Bren was resuscitated for 15 minutes at birth. He was diagnosed with HIE and went through cooling treatment. An MRI showed severe brain damage. The doctors told us he likely will never walk, talk, eat orally, sit, or do things his peers are doing.
At age 5, Bren crawls, uses a communication device, plays with his sisters, and is working on walking with a device. He has undergone surgery to help the tone throughout his body. Tone management is still something he struggles with today. He goes to multiple therapies a week and many specialist appointments each month.
Bren primarily uses a wheelchair which doesn’t fit well in our house. There isn’t room for much equipment and pulling equipment out of various hiding places doesn’t happen often. So therapy at home doesn’t happen as often as we would like it too. It’s hard for Bren’s sisters to participate in things as we are often running Bren to different appointments.
Bren has a feeding tube which means it takes longer for him to eat than most people. Our meals often happen at home so Bren can have the privacy he deserves. When we found out Bren was going to have multiple disabilities and need a lot of extra attention, I (mom) quit my full time job and grad school to care for him.
Being a one income family, with no local family support, and no daycare options has been difficult. There are therapies we would love to participate in but can’t due to financial constraints. We would love to add on to our home or build a new home that is more accessible for Bren. We would love to save up for a family vacation. The grant money would allow us to pay for therapies that would be beneficial. It would also help us do some extra fun things that many families get to do.
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