Braden was born in 2005 with a heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. He underwent 3 open heart surgeries before the age of 3. In May 2020, Braden was diagnosed with heart failure and he began the process of heart transplant evaluation. On August 27, 2020 Braden was admitted to Texas Children's because of worsening heart failure symptoms. Braden was officially listed for transplant on September 4th. After being on the transplant list for 13 days, Braden's heart failure worsened to the point where the doctors were not sure how much longer he would remain stable. At that point the doctors felt Braden's best option was to have a VAD placed. Braden underwent open heart surgery to place a VAD on September 17, 2020. Approximately a week after Braden's VAD surgery we were told that Braden was suspected to have suffered a brain injury during surgery because he was having issues coming out of sedation after being extubated. This website has been created for family and friends to follow Braden's journey. I've reposted all our previous Facebook posts on this website also.
