Good-bye to Braylon

This week, an 7-year-old boy lost his battle with cancer, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.

Braylon went to preschool with my daughter. He was a bright, shining child. The kind who had it all: academically advanced, a great athlete, but with such a warm, generous personality that everyone loved him.

The type of gifted person that the mythical gods of old caused to die young out of jealousy.

He was diagnosed only about 4 months ago. His type of brain cancer is considered a terminal diagnosis. Less than 10% of kids survive for 2 years after diagnosis.

Braylon faced it all with strength and good humor. A community rallied around him. You could almost dare to hope that he would be one of the very few to beat this thing, because that’s the sort of kid he was.

But miracles are, by definition, rare, and he did not get one. His passing was quick and unexpected, his fight ending just as it was moving to a new level.

I cannot imagine the pain of his parents, his little sister. Braylon’s light lives on in them, and in all those he touched. Although he is not physically here, his light  has not gone out. Like any candle, Braylon lit many others with his flame, creating a lasting legacy for such a short life.

If there is any lesson to be learned from this tragedy it is this: hold those you love close every day. Tomorrow is never promised.

Not even when you’re 7 years old.

**If you’d like to help the family, who still have the heavy medical bills to pay, please go to Braylon’s Warriors and donate whatever you can.**

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