Big Brother of Brody Allen Returns Home for Holidays by Grace of God
Some families seem to sail through life without suffering anything but the most minor of troubles. The occasional bounced check, a bad grade or unpleasant (but mostly treatable) illness is all they face.
Others, though, receive woe upon woe. From financial devastation to fatal diseases, they face more problems than you think they can stand.
Yet somehow they do. The Allen family is one of these clans.
Do you remember Brody Allen? He was a 2-year-old boy from Colerain Township, Ohio, who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
People magazine reported that little Brody’s entire community banded together to help him celebrate an early Christmas when doctors announced he only had weeks to live. Sadly, they were right.
“It is with the deepest sadness I want (to) tell you that Brody has lost his fight,” the family wrote on Oct. 19. “This morning at 6 a.m., Brody passed quietly and peacefully in the arms of his mother Shilo.”
As terrible as losing a child to brain cancer is, the Allens’ troubles weren’t over. According to WLWT, Brody’s 19-year-old brother Andrew suffered a terrible accident three weeks after the young boy’s death.
While trying to cross a road, he got struck by not one, but two vehicles. His injuries were so extensive that physicians didn’t expect him to survive his first night in the hospital.
WKRC reported that he had multiple broken bones and had damaged several internal organs. Worse than those, though, was the fact that he suffered a traumatic brain injury.
But Andrew didn’t die. Instead, he pulled through and slowly began to improve.
“He woke up one day and started talking and it’s just been little bit by little bit each and every day, and we have Andrew back,” his father, Todd Allen, said. “It’s just a matter of getting all of him back, the rest of his body back.”
Allen added, “There were a lot of dark days and scary days at (University of Cincinnati Hospital) not knowing if he would survive. Then one day after his body healed and they got all the surgeries done, he started talking and waking up and here we are today: home for Christmas.”
Allen was quick to praise the first responders who helped keep Andrew alive. “Our Police & Fire departments are a blessing that I think we all sometimes take for granted until it’s our time of need,” he wrote on Facebook. “I vow to never make that mistake again. God bless you all.”
“We could not have gotten this far without you and God,” he added, acknowledging the support of the Team Brody Facebook group. “Thank you for your compassion, support, and all the love you have shared with us.”
He also said that his strong religious beliefs have sustained him and his family during these difficult times. When asked by WXIX what gave him strength, he replied, “My faith, of course, first and foremost.
“My family. In these moments you have nothing to do but lean on each other. Team Brody has been amazing.”
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