Facebook post written by Brett’s Dad, Tony, in tribute to Brett:
There are various checkpoints along the road of life. Once passed, you can never go back to the life you knew on the preceding side. Some you can clearly recognize as you approach them, and you have the opportunity to prepare for the transition. Others come up so quickly that you become dizzy as the world you knew suddenly spins just out of reach, no matter how desperately you try to retrieve it. Some checkpoints are ones you know you will eventually encounter along the way and you steel yourself against the eventuality, but others are ones that you never, ever expect to cross at any point in your long journey.
Brett has been a true blessing in our lives. Our fourth and youngest child, we would often describe him as a “dangerous baby,” because he was the type of baby that made you want to have more babies! He was so incredibly cute, he began wooing people at birth with his long, striking eyelashes, and his temperament as an infant was ideal. He was easily pleased and slept through the night much earlier than expected.
He absolutely adored his older siblings, and even as an infant, watched with such obvious excitement as he looked forward to when he could join in their rough play!
As he got older, Brett faced serious challenges in the forms of ADHD and speech issues which made it difficult to interact with the rest of the world. Those of us closest to him learned to recognize his unique way of speaking, but for so many people outside of the family, “Brettspeak” was a foreign language. This made it almost impossible for him to make friends in the schoolyard. That is, except for one little girl to whom I will feel indebted eternally. Sarai latched right onto Brett, and they became fast friends to the end of his days.
In a lot of ways, Brett never seemed to get a fair shake. In addition to the speech and neurological issues, Brett was in the Class of 2020, whose high school experience was sadly cut short due to the pandemic. The next year, he found himself with no option but to come along when we moved to Arizona, but Brett never developed the love for the Grand Canyon State felt by his father.
In January 2024, Brett made the decision to leave the nest and join his cousins in Buffalo, New York. Despite my worries that it would be too difficult for him to be out on his own, I was comforted in the assurance of a solid support structure provided by his cousins and friends who had previously relocated there. To our delight, Brett thrived in his new environment! He got a job and commuted there on public transportation (to my surprise he never showed the slightest interest in learning how to drive)! But most importantly, he was happy! He was on his own, living his own life, his way!
Devastatingly, that life was cut short when he recently became ill and, as it seems in a bout of disorientation, Brett fell and hit his head. Unfortunately, he was home alone when this happened, and by the time he was found by a roommate, it was too late; our Brett was gone.
While right now, I feel like I would do almost anything to make this pain go away, I know that it’s nothing more than the bill coming due for the two decades of joy that he brought into our lives. I love you, Brett, now and always!
Update: Since Tony wrote his tribute to Brett, we learned that, while Brett did fall and hit his head, it was not a contributing factor. A rare form of meningitis caused his death.