Thursday I got a surprise visit from someone VERY special...Mary Allen!
Mary is our sweet Brandon Ray Allen's mom. If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know that Brandon was a little boy the same age as Brooke that I have known for several years. I met him and his mom when I worked at Clayridge the first time and then we worked together again at the Academy in Leeds. I had Brandon whenever I did afterschool care and you could not ask for a better behaved more polite kid.
In October, he was walking home from a friend's house when he was hit by a car. He died at Children's Hospital a few days later. There is nothing more gut-wrenching than the death of a child, any child, but especially one so full of promise and just a joy to be around.
It's been six months and there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't thought of him and Brooke still talks about him a lot, too.
So you can imagine how my heart skipped a beat when his sweet precious mother walked into my classroom! She looked really good--much better than I think I would look if I'd lost my son only six months ago. But of course, she's different and always will be. She shared that she needed to get out of the house because she'd found Brandon's report card yesterday and she was tired of crying all the time. She shared more about what was going on with her personally but I'll keep that in the confidence I'm sure she meant for it to stay in. But all in all, I was amazed at her strength.
One thing that she did share that I just CANT keep to myself was that she is getting to meet a recipient of one of Brandon's organ's. In fact, this young lady is on the Team Brandon Facebook page and is a lovely young lady! That blows me away to actually know personally both the receiver and giver of such a precious gift! Mary also shared that a 17 year old girl received Brandon's heart and that she is praying to meet her one day soon so she can feel her baby's heart beating again...
That just gives me chills! How ANYONE in their right mind can be against organ donation is beyond me...
Don't take your organs to heaven--Heaven knows we need them here!!! Brandon's life, however short but precious has been able to make an impact not only on those he knew but now on MANY more...and just think of the many more THOSE people will be able to touch because of him. It just blows me away!
And it helped me to put a lot in perspective--no matter what is going on in my life, God manages to always show me how blessed I really am! Thank you, God!
And thank you, Brandon for the privelege and pleasure and honor it has been to know you and your mom. We love and miss you!
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