BRAVE LIKE BRAX

Before we get into the hard part, we hope to help you get to know the sweet, goofy boy we all love so much. Brax was born on December 17th, 2019. His old older brother Nolan, who was an only child for ten years, absolutely fell in love with him instantly. Brax always has a way of stealing peoples hearts. Just a year after he was born he got his favorite present ever…his little sister Atleigh! He absolutely adores his siblings and cousins, but has always been the star of the show. He loves to sing along to Cocomelon and ANYTHING that has to do with dinosaurs. Brax has a giggle that starts way down in his toes and just bubbles out, infecting the whole room, making it impossible not to laugh with him. He loves to swing, swimming with his family in the pool, reading books, but throwing his football is his absolute favorite pastime. It’s a hot family debate between Mom and Dad whether he will grow up to be a Packers or Steelers fan, but we do know he’ll grow up to love football because he already does.

On July 15, 2021 Jose & Nina took that same sweet boy Brax, then 18 months old, to the Emergency Room. They walked in holding Brax’s hands, with him jumping into mud puddles in his favorite rain boots laughing all the way. They never knew, walking into those hospital doors, that it would be a day that changed their lives forever. What started as a trip for a possible ear infection and respiratory virus turned into a real-life nightmare very quickly. Brax was immediately transferred to Northwestern Central DuPage, and the next morning they received his diagnosis of B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. For the next 8 days Jose and Nina stayed with Brax, and took off work to begin his long and difficult path to recovery. On July 19, 2021 Brax had surgery to have his port placed, a bone marrow biopsy, and spinal tap to begin his first round of chemotherapy. Altogether, his treatment plan is slightly over 3 years. Fortunately, the bulk of his chemo should be outpatient treatments, but unfortunately, that means lots of back and forth for his parents, time off work, travel expenses, and so forth. Brax is being treated at Northwestern Central DuPage Hospital, which is three hours round trip for the family. For the time being, his father Jose will stay home full time and put his career on hold to care for Brax.  His mother Nina will continue working but has already exhausted all of her paid time off, therefor she will be taking unpaid days to attend treatment and hospital stays. For anyone that knows Jose and Nina, you know how proud they are; you know how good of parents they are, and you know how badly they wish they could take care of this on their own. Unfortunately that’s just not realistic, so any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated. If it’s a dollar, a prayer, or a wish for some strength, it would mean the world to the family,and together we will all beat this. Together we will all be BRAVE LIKE BRAX!