About Brooks

On June 5, 2013, we welcomed our son Brooks James Brolsma into the world. We knew that he was going to need imminent heart surgery, so two months prior to delivery we packed up and moved to Las Vegas. We left our jobs, our house, and all of our responsibilities and had no idea when we would be back to Reno, but it didn't matter because we were about to become a family. Brooks was born 3.5 weeks early, and was put on a ventilator right away. Within his first two days of life things seemed to be going well, and we were told his heart was functioning better than they suspected. They even thought there was a possibility he would not need heart surgery as soon as expected. As one can imagine we were beyond thrilled and were filled with a sense of hope that we would be back home with our boy in a few weeks. Boy, were we wrong. Just one day after we received this amazing news, we were devastated by a life-threatening event. At three days old, Brooks suffered a pulmonary hemorrhage, in which he lost 50% of his blood supply. They were unsure as to whether or not he would pull through the night, and to all of our amazement, he did. Right from the start he was a fighter. Each day he grew stronger, and bigger, and after 3 weeks he was ready for his first heart surgery. Surgery was a success, and although we were terrified the whole time, Brooks got through it with flying colors. Although still on the ventilator, he seemed to be thriving, so it was decided that he was ready to try breathing on his own. A month after he was born, they tried intubating him and failed. It was attempted 2 more times, all with no success. Finally, they came to the conclusion that his nasal cavities were closed and that he would need a tracheostomy in order to get off the vent. We were posed with a big decision. It was either stay in Las Vegas, 8 hours from home in a town we were unfamiliar with until Brooks was old enough to get nasal surgery (up to one year), or opt for a trach, in which the recovery was quick and we could get him home faster. We chose the latter, as there was nothing we wanted more than to have our baby boy home with us. So, a tracheostomy was performed and we were finally able to see our son's whole face, uncovered from all the ventilator tape and tubes. It took another month of recovery and parent training, but at the end of August we were ready to come home. We had spent 3.5 months in Las Vegas and were thrilled to be headed back to Reno.

Once home, Brooks began to thrive. Although we had to take him to numerous doctor appointments each week and he was constantly poked and prodded, he was the happiest baby in the world. Friends and family members supported our transition home through bringing us home cooked meals, aiding in our grocery shopping, and holding fundraisers to help us pay for our extraordinary amount of bills we accumulated for Brooks' health needs. It was because of all of them that we were able to keep afloat during such a huge time of change.

At around 4 months, we learned that Brooks had something called Charge Syndrome and because of that he was legally blind and deaf. One would have never guessed by looking at him because he smiled constantly, laughed and played as if he had every sense all the other babies had. Brooks made friends every place we took him, and his friends were always enthralled with his playful demeanor. Day by day he grew bigger and chubbier, and at 10 months he was ready for his full repair heart surgery back in Las Vegas. Once again we prepared to pack up our lives to move for an unknown amount of time, but it was something that had to be done. We took our whole extended family with us and our hopes were high. Once again, we could not wait to get back home.

Brooks ended up passing away shortly after surgery. Although he is gone, we are left with the happiness and positivity he met life with every day. He passed that joy for life on to everyone he came into contact with and we have been forever changed by him, as have many others.