You will always be My Sweet Baby Boy..............MomThis memorial website was created to remember our dearest Brandon Mitchell who was born in Twin Falls, Idaho on January 13, 1988 and passed away on in Plano, Texas on January 28, 2006. You will live forever in our memories and hearts.
Brandon is such an amazing young man! He had just turned 18 two weeks earlier. One of my other sons, Brett, was leaving out of town for a while with my oldest son, Chad, and Brandon wanted to spend an evening with him before he left. They recieved a call from the dad of one of their friends. Heinvited the boys over. Brandon was in the greatest mood when he left! That was Friday night, January 27th. When the boys returned home at midnight they appeared to be very drunk. Naturally I was upset and told them both to get to bed. I was giving an adoption seminar the next morning and checked in on Brandon before I left. He was asleep. I ALWAYS wake my kids up either during the night or early in the morning if I have been upset with them, just to make sure they heard me tell them I loved them and that we would talk when they were awake. I chose to let him sleep since I was going to be gone. I NEVER do that. Oh how I wish I could turn back the clock, for that and for everything that took place!! Sometime in the morning around 10:45AM or so Brandon got up, went into our garage and hung himself from the punching bag frame in his workout area. My then 2 1/2 year old daughter opened the garage door and found him around 11AM. When my partner called me Brandon was still hanging. My kids were going nuts. I had to tell them to cut him down and start doing CPR and call 911. I raced home as I was just down the street. They were working on him when I got there. I follwed the ambulance to the hospital and was in the room with Brandon as they tried everything to bring him back. They finally made me give them permission to stop doing CPR. He was pronounced dead at 11:47 on January 28th, 2006. I have been frozen in that day for 20 months now. I have nine children I love the same but all my heart feels is empty. I have lived an "out of body" experience ever since that day. Brandon died alone. I never got to say goodbye. My last words to him were cross ones! I needed, still NEED, to talk to him and hold him one more time!
We later found out that when the boys were at their friend's home, the dad bought them beer and then gave them all a bunch of xanax. Brandon was under the influence of this drug when he hung himself. It closes off the frontal lobe of brains younger than 25 years old and makes it so they cannot reason. He NEVER would have acted on his feeling had he not had this drug in his system. I NEVER would have left the house that morning if I knew he had those drugs in his system! It has been 20 months. The Plano Police Department is STILL refusing to go after that dad because Brandon hung himself!!! If he would have died in his sleep from the drugs, we would have had the chance to make that man pay! But because he killed himself, they won't do ANYTHING!! I have tried and tried to get something done. These drugs are killing our babies!! NO ONE seems to care!
| Another Mom |
With Empathy |
December 2, 2007 |
Dear Pam, I am truly so sad for your loss. I too lost a child to suicide. It was nearly ten and half years ago, but sometimes it feels as though it were yesterday. My daughter was young as well. She was just 16. As moms we feel as though we should know it all. We are just human. My final words to my daughter, although not necessarily harsh ,were not the final words one should hear on this earth. I too wish that my last words to my child were "I love you". Our hearts are broken forever, I know. I do promise, you that as time goes on it does become easier. As you already know some days are more difficult then others. This is true even on down the road. I hope that you and you LP are strong together and take care of one another, because there is nothing more difficult then what you are going through right now. People DO care. I do. I will be thinking of you and your family today and I will be lighting a candle for your beloved son, Brandon.
| Debi |
A Mom who knows |
November 30, 2007 |
Dearest Pam,
Oh how my heart breaks for you! I read your entry regarding the death of your handsome son with tears streaming down my face. I can feel your pain, your grief and the anger. I cannot even imagine why a parent would do such a thing as providing alcohol and an anti-anxiety drug as a COCKTAIL of sorts! I agree with you. That person should pay for the loss of your son. It just seems so senseless that Brandon chose to end his own life, yet it wasn't really "Brandon" doing the thinking. His thought process was alterred all because some fool elected to provide drugs to someone elses children! I become absolutely livid just thinking about it.
You are in my thoughts and prayers and I hope that some day, justice will prevail in this heartbreaking situation. Please visit our son's memorial. He died of blunt force trauma to the head following a car accident. I love him and miss him more each day. The void just doesn't ease up and it's been 2 years, 4 months and 14 days since I kissed him goodbye.
Do take care.........Debi Collins
http://andrew-collins.last-memories.com
