Finding Hope in Our Community’s Youth: Brennan’s Story
Another BIG round of applause to everyone who made our Building Bridges Dinner and Auction: Illuminate Hope a huge success — donors, bidders, volunteers, everyone in our community who helped spread the word — THANK YOU!
If you were fortunate enough to have been able to attend the event this year, you will remember Brennan and his mom, Gloria, our featured speakers who didn’t leave a dry eye in the room. We would like to share their story with you again.
Brennan just turned sixteen years old last month. He was born in Seattle, Washington at 25 weeks gestation and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at one year old after contracting and battling necrotizing enterocolitis, which caused sepsis when he was three weeks old, leading to short bowel syndrome. Between cerebral palsy and short bowel syndrome, he’s endured over 45 surgical procedures with the latest one just a couple months ago.
Throughout his life, he has received special education services, along with occupational and physical therapies. Brennan loves travelling with his family and teammates, playing with his Boston Terrier (Mojo), and gaming on his Playstation. He has participated in both adaptive and non-adaptive sports over the years–sixteen altogether. Some of these sports include wrestling, swimming, tae kwon do, power soccer (wheelchair), non-adaptive soccer, fencing, and handcycling. His most recent achievements include playing half-time at the Seattle Storm game with Seattle Adaptive Sports, winning Varsity Player MVP at West Coast National Wheelchair Basketball tournament in Phoenix, taking part in a 75-mile 3-day ride/roll with Ian’s Ride, and lettering and placing third in seated shot-put for the Washington state championships. Brennan is also an advocate for accessible and adaptive sports, serving on committees in King County and nationally.
This summer, Brennan’s mom rented an electric mountain bike handcycle for him after he took a course with a local adaptive sports organization. He absolutely fell in love with the sport. It goes beyond even his love for regular handcycling. To increase his independence and to lean into his passion, Brennan’s family has started a GoFundMe to achieve his dream of having his own electric mountain bike handcycle. Please consider donating by clicking [here] or scanning the QR code below.
Our community members, such as Brennan, make us smile. What makes you smile? What is your story? Do you have one that you would like to be featured in our posts? Send us a message via email to bridge@bridgemin.org or through any of our social media channels. We would love to hear from you!
Categorised in: Bridge Story, Building Bridges Dinner & Auction