The staff of the hospice care facilities is always prepared for difficult farewells because they are aware that the majority of patients who enter here never survive.
Of sure, there are miracles that go against all logic. And among them was Branden West. Here is his experience…
Branden West’s parents were concerned about his survival even before he was born. After getting a prenatal screening, physicians informed his mom Cheri West that her baby boy had some difficulties that would make his life challenging due of his special requirements.
When their son was born, the family learned that their son’s situation was not as serious as they had first thought. Due to Pfeiffer disease, Branden’s face and skull were shaped differently.
The baby was expected to live barely 18 months after his birth, according to the medical professionals.
Knowing he wouldn’t have much time left, his parents made the decision to put him in hospice care to make the little time he had left on earth as comfortable as possible. There, Little Brendan first encountered Michele Eddings while receiving hospice care.
The day Eddings learned she would have to place a young boy in hospice care is still fresh in her mind. She told, “The day I went to admit him, I was expecting it to be a very heavy, tearful, emotional meeting. After all, these parents were admitting their baby boy to Hospice.”
However, she was surprised to find a smiling little boy who appeared to be in a good mood. One of Brendan’s health problems involved his respiratory system.
One anxious night, she recalls, the young kid was having trouble breathing, and she wasn’t sure if he would survive the night. “I remember pleading to God to please just take him or make him better, it was just too hard for him, his family, and all those involved in his care.”
Thankfully, Branden made it through and did actually improve. Eddings recalls with love, “Braden was the first patient I’d ever had the pleasure of ‘discharging’ from Hospice Care.”
Eddings had the pleasure of witnessing Branden receive his diploma from Apollo High School in 2020, when he became 18 years old. Nobody believed he would survive to experience the day he walked on stage to earn his diploma, but she saw him do it.
Eddings even photographed and manipulated images of her former patient to commemorate him graduating from high school since she was so happy to see him succeeding in life.