When Braden West was born, doctors told his parents that he would not survive.
The little boy had all odds against him – but his life-threatening condition would lead to one miracle after another.
Today, Braden is 22 and celebrates his life by becoming a firefighter.
Braden West was born with the rare craniofacial condition, Pfeiffer syndrome Type 2, which causes malformations of the skull and an underdeveloped brain.
His mom Cheri understood something was wrong and was told about her son’s condition two weeks before he was born.
“I mean, he’s kicking in my belly and I’m praying for God to take him home,” Cheri told News Nation Now in 2020, adding:
It looked like he was not going to have the back of his head. It looked like he was going to be born with teeth. It looked like it was a bad situation.”
But when Braden was born, Cheri immediately bonded with her special boy.
Facebook / Michele Eddings Linn
Sadly, Cheri also felt that there wasn’t much she could do to save her baby boy. Many of the children with Braden’s condition will not live past birth. In Braden’s case, he wasn’t expected to live beyond 18 months.
“I said dear God please, just let me have him for a little while,” said Cheri.
“There’s a picture of him when he was born and it shows his skull very well, a distinct clover shape,” Cheri told The Owensboro Times, adding:
“At a month old they let us bring him home. He was not thriving, they knew he was not going to make it. We brought him home to meet everyone so he wouldn’t die in a hospital.”
Facebook / Michele Eddings Linn
But since his birth, Braden has been defying all the odds. With the support of his loving family, the little boy started to show signs of progression.
“He had over 30 surgeries, got a tracheotomy at just 3 months old, and once had a procedure done with a 10% survival rate,” Cheri said. “We had to sign the DNR papers, say our goodbyes and everything. Instead of bad news, the doctors came out and said he was okay.”
