- Lyle

Bradley

       Bradley’s story is heart wrenching, yet the beauty of this boy is anything but. This eleven-year-old boy should not be alive, and by all guesses, won’t be for very much longer. Bradley has suffered through a stroke, a heart attack, has no spleen, has heart and lung cancer, and had his first open heart surgery when he was less than twenty hours old. Bradley currently suffers from a heart disorder of some sort and has plastic lung, a disease that makes the lining of the lung essentially useless. Bradley’s father believes that a large contributing factor to Bradley’s condition is that both of his parents had heart conditions that shortened their lives considerably. What is happening to this poor boy is utterly horrible, enough to make even a casual peruser of this wondrous boy’s story nearly cry.  Yet the absolute innocence of this amazingly beautiful little boy is astounding. Bradley is more than anybody that does not know him could ever express.
He is dieing, yet he leads a life as normal as possible, while still being innocent, perfect, even in what could be the last days of his life. Bradley is a happy boy, he has no self pity, no regrets, he is a carefree child, one who is so sweet and beautiful that knowing that one day his innocent pure life will end is enough to bring tears to the most callous of hearts.  Yet this beauty will not save him, and he seems ok with that. When I met this child, he was happy, he smiled, he was bashful in front of us strangers just as any other young boy was, just from looking at this boy nobody would ever guess at the horrific turn of events his life has taken. From the time this smiling little boy from Missouri was twenty hours old he was having surgery, and he has become a true miracle. Bradley’s doctors gave him a 50% chance of living from the time he was born, but the plastic lung that he developed later in his short life has a 90% mortality rate.
Yet despite these odds, I still met a gorgeous smiling boy in the back of is father’s rented van in the wondrous state of Alaska. Bradley is dieing, yet he is still the luckiest boy on earth, Bradley was given the chance of a lifetime to add to his list of miracles. Bradley was given a grant by the make a wish foundation, his wish was to come here. Bradley wanted to come see whales, and he did, despite his flight being delayed for many hours in Atlanta, he was still able to come here, and see a place that can work some miracles of its own.
Bradley is the most beautiful person on this planet, he is dieing, yet he is not afraid of it, as he is pure, he will spend eternity in peaceful bliss, as this is how it must be if it is at all possible. This boy, this child, this innocent young soul is going to die, but his miraculous life and smile make it plain to all those who see him that he is a truly remarkable boy. Bradley has lived a life that we must all be envious of, he has lived purely, he has lived perfectly, he has lived through all of this and he will live through more before his journey through this great land is done. Bradley is beautiful and without flaw, a perfect boy. I love him.