Brandon

A week ago today our family had a tremendous shock when my 23 year old nephew, and my oldest nephew, Brandon, passed away unexpectedly. He was living in BC with his mother, she got up and went to work early in the morning, he was asleep on the sofa. His stepfather got up a couple of hours later and went out, Brandon was still asleep. (They knew he was asleep because he was snoring a bit.) When A came home a couple of hours later he found Brandon wasn't breathing, but the paramedics couldn't do anything, and the doctors in the hospital couldn't help him, either. He's my brother's only child, his parents separated when he was around seven years old, and she never had any other kids, either. He lived with my aunt (my mother's sister) from the time he was nine til he was nineteen.

An autopsy was performed, the doctor thought he may have had a heart attack, an asthma attack, or an aneurysm, but nothing showed at all. Now we have to wait up to three months for toxicology reports. He had been mixing cement at work, and his back was bothering him. (He had called my mother the day before he died and mentioned that to her.) He took two or three puffers for his asthma and was only supposed to take tylenol, nothing else for pain. Now they're thinking he took something for his back that caused an allergic reaction/overdose with his puffers. Any way around it we're all totally heartbroken, and hopefully these other tests will give some answers that the autopsy did not. He had asthma, and when he was three he had most of his right kidney removed, but he never had any kidney trouble since then.

These pictures were taken in July 2010 when he was home for a visit. He's been out west with his mother for the past couple of years.

His mother, his friend, and Brandon.

I don't like to have my picture taken, but his mother made me get into the photo, too, and I'm so glad now she did. I've got lots of pictures with him when he was a baby (I was only 16 and didn't mind having my picture taken back then!), but I didn't have any with him in later years. This is my Oldest One, my Dad, my Littlest One, me (orange t-shirt), Brandon, my mother, and Brandon's friend.

Rest in peace, dear nephew. June 23, 1988 - September 7, 2011.