Sparkling light swirls around the trunk of a tall spruce tree outside Dwyer Odel's house in Alandel, Lorenshan village, north of Montreal. A wind chime hanging from to rings a branch. Dozens of wooden hearts, each holding a message to Braden Odel and his family, decorate the branches.
"If you come here when the wind is blowing and the chime is ringing, you'll feel his presence here," says Braden's mother, Jennifer Dwyer, with a sad smile. ..
Braden, 11, died on January 27, 2021 after a massive cerebral hemorrhage caused by his illness that no one knew.
His death upset the life of his family, but it also created an unexpected bond with the neurosurgeon who performed emergency surgery on him. That connection led to the creation of a fund to raise awareness of congenital malformations like Braden, hoping that other families would relieve the pain of Dwyer Odels
'Mom, are you okay? '
Their odyssey began late January 22, 2021. He was playing a video game when Braden stopped and complained about his terrible headache.
It was unusual, his mother said: he rarely complained. When she turned to the cupboard to look for Tylenol, her son Shane said, "Mom, look at him."
Braden was sweating a lot. When she touched him, he was "hot like fire."
He looked at her and asked her, "Mom, are you okay?"
When Kevin Odel ran after hearing his wife shout "Call 911," he asked his father the same question.
Even when his parents tried to reassure him, they knew something was terribly wrong. Within minutes, Braden was no longer responsive.
"He couldn't speak. He couldn't do anything. He was just drooling," his mother remembered.
Vascular Tangle
Ambulance first left Braden for an hour to Saint Jerome Hospital, then to Montreal, Center Hospitalier University Saint-Jostin, Canada's largest children's hospital.
Brain scans revealed that Braden had an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. This is a congenital disorder in which blood vessels become entangled in the brain. The walls of these blood vessels tend to rupture like an aneurysm.
AVM is rare and affects only 1 in 1,000 children, said Dr. Alexander Weil, a pediatric neurosurgeon who treated Braden. However, they are the most common cause of spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage in children.
Brain scans are the only way to diagnose AVM, and even if tangles are found, only one in five can be surgically removed, Weil said.
Some people may not be aware that they have an AVM or are experiencing symptoms. However, 20% of children's cases are fatal, and other cases result in lifelong cognitive or disability.
World Clash
When Braden was scanned at Santo Justin Hospital, Weil saw a computer screen as a patient image in real time. The brain I saw in appeared on the monitor. They showed that the boy's life was at stake.
Weil needed to operate the boy immediately. He got out of the scan and gave news to Braden's parents.
Weil stated that the conflict between the two worlds of him as a doctor, his patient and his family is one of the most intense {171} parts of his work. rice field.
He wept as he remembered the moment he met Kevin Odel and Jennifer Dwyer that night.
"The first human discussion was'Your son is in a life-threatening state.'"
Weil later had two of his circles in the Dwyer Odel family. I knew that I knew. However, he said his first encounter before entering his operating room sealed the bond he expected to connect him with his family.
"They entered my life and my heart when I entered their lives and literally entered his brain to get rid of the blood clots that threatened his life." He said.
The surgery lasted for several hours and Weil successfully relieved the pressure from the bleeding. However, four days later, Braden was still in intensive care with an induced coma, but he fell into cardiac arrest. The medical team tried to beat the boy's heart again, but couldn't.
"We are at the end of the rope here," Dwyer said her doctor told her. "There is nothing we can do for your son."
Braden's three older siblings joined to say goodbye to their parents at the boy's bedside (submitted by Jennifer Dwyer). It was past midnight when they set out for a long drive home to Laurenshan.
"The most difficult part was closing the door and not bringing our boy," Dwyer said.
Special bond
At home, the family tried to understand their loss. Brianna, the oldest, says she and her brother fall into a mountain on the couch and talk to them early in the morning. She declined her invitation from her friend to leave her house.
Like her parents and her siblings, she noticed that she was reaching out to Weil, a Braden surgeon.
"I sent him a message, and I was just like" why "," Brianna said. "He is very comforting.
"By helping him heal this family after he stopped taking care of me, I think I've forged bonds and brought emotions to the forefront." I think I helped them, but they also helped me. "
Weil and the CHUSainte-Justine Foundation worked with the Dwyer-Odell family to name Braden. ..
"If anything, it's a testament to what they are," Weil said. Difficult My situation to help my son's ship and others. Death of son. (Marika Wheeler / CBC)
Dwyer is aTeam Braden Foundation is a way to ensure that your son's memory and heritage survive. It states that there is.
"AVM is a very rare condition," she said. "Why can't the family understand something that can help them not experience what we are experiencing? Help save the child."
The family In August, we will host a fundraiser when we hold a golf tournament on the course in front of Alandel's house.
They hope that the money can be used to raise awareness about AVM and fund research to improve results.
Weil said the study is needed to help understand the disease and develop blood tests to detect AVM and drugs to better treat AVM.
Physical Reminder
Weil spoke at the celebration of Braden's life.
After the ceremony, Dwyer gave him a gift he said was more meaningful to him than any honorary title or distinction he might receive for his work: Braden. A glass heart with some of the ashes embedded in it. Weil carries it in his scrub pocket when he's in the operating room, and on her desk when he's doing research.
What does it mean when he witnesses the pain of his family by losing his son and siblings and thank his parents for saving their children? He said he really made me understand.
"[Bladen] always reminds me of the impact of what I'm doing," he said.
"So I carry him [with me], and the end result is the best of my ability to save all children every day until the last day on earth. I will do my best. "
