Kenslee Brandon had a full life and now helps others do the same through organ donation

NEWCOMERSTOWN− Every parent’s hope is their child will live a long, healthy, and happy life. It was the same for Cory and Amy Brandon of Newcomerstown. Their daughter, Kenslee Jae Brandon, was born on Aug. 11, 2005. Within an hour of her birth, Kenslee was transported from Coshocton County Memorial Hospital to Akron Children’s Hospital with suspected spinal meningitis. Test results were negative for meningitis, but, as precaution, she spent three weeks in the NICU. Unbeknownst to her family, Akron Children’s Hospital would continue to play a vital role in Kenslee’s life until her untimely death in 2020.Kenslee was the first grandchild on both sides of her family. She was everyone’s little blonde pride and joy. When she was 3 years old her sister, Kaelyn, was born and she quickly became her sister’s keeper, according to Debbie, Kenslee's maternal grandmother.  Kenslee’s life took an unexpected turn in February 2016. She was just 10 and in the fourth grade at Newcomerstown West Elementary. She was home for a snow day and began to experience unquenchable thirst, ravaging hunger and frequent bathroom trips.

Her parents took her to Union Hospital and she was transferred to Akron Children’s Hospital. That was the day she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. She would continue diabetes checkups at Akron every three months for the rest of her life.Kenslee began attending Akron Children’s Hospital’s diabetes camp in the summer. There she became friends with other kids struggling with this life-threatening disease. She had a desire to help others with diabetes and decided to participate in the Hospital’s Have a Heart, Do Your Part..Be a Change Bandit fundraising campaign. She asked everyone she knew if they would donate their change and she raised more than $800.

Kenslee excelled in volleyball and track. She also played the quads in the Newcomerstown High School Marching Band as an eighth-grader. Life was exciting and there was so much to look forward to as she was preparing to enter her freshman year at NHS.

Life took a tragic turn

But on July 11, 2020, at the age of 14, Kenslee sustained severe brain injury as she was the passenger in a go-kart that rolled over. She was flown to Akron Children’s Hospital. She never regained consciousness and only had minimal brain function.

Life Banc representatives reached out to Cory and Amy to discuss organ donation. Because of her young age and good health, they referred to her as one in a million. All her major organs and tissues could be used to help others. And so, on July 16, her organs were harvested. Cory and Amy received a letter from Life Banc informing them Kenslee’s heart went to 13-year-old female, both lungs went to a 15-year-old male, the left lobe of her liver went to a 2-year-old male and the right lobe of her liver went to a 52-year-old female. A 26-year-old female received her left kidney and a 32-year-old female received the right one. Her tissues and corneas were used for potential transplant, research, and medical education. In all, this can enhance the lives of 50 other people.

Because this would have been Kenslee’s senior year, the high school band is selling shirts featuring a set of quads with her initials on them. Kenslee’s family asked Barron Design Company of Newcomerstown to create white acrylic angel wings, engraved with KJB, to be worn on all the band uniforms. At Newcomerstown’s home football opener, the band honored Kenslee by placing her quads on the sideline.

Each senior band member placed a red rose on them, followed by a moment of silence. Barron Design Co also created a volleyball shirt with a pair of angel wings with the #5 on the sleeve. Kenslee’s family is planning to create a volleyball scholarship in her memory and Barron Design Co is donating a percentage of the sales from the shirts towards the scholarship. The volleyball team also honored Kenslee at their home opener.

Since Akron Children’s Hospital played a big role in Kenslee’s life, her family now has a passion for raising funds for hospital. Their first endeavor, soon after her passing, was to design and sell T-shirts featuring a volleyball, musical notes, the Type-1 diabetes ribbon and Kenslee’s name and dates of birth and death. More than 200 shirts were ordered and made by C&E Stones of Newcomerstown. C&E donated 25% of their profit from the shirts. On the day the family presented the hospital with a $2,000 check they discovered the hospital had put a nameplate on diabetic exam room #5, Kenslee's volleyball number.

A major source of funding has come from the creation of the Kenslee Jae Brandon Memorial Foundation. The nonprofit was started by Kenslee’s father, Cory Brandon, along with his friends Robb Mann and Amanda Johnson.  For the past three summers, they have hosted the KJB Memorial Golf Scramble and have raised $40,500 for Akron Children’s Hospital’s Diabetes Camp. The money pays for full-tuition scholarships for all campers. In total, $49,435 has been donated to Akron Children’s Hospital in memory of Kenslee.

Kenslee’s sister, Kaelyn, was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 10. Kenslee became a source of guidance and encouragement for her. The family still visits Akron Children’s Hospital every three months with Kaelyn.

Untangling a mystery

The family believes God works even when we are unware and events that followed Kenlee's death only confirmed that for them.

On July 16, two butterfly bushes were mysteriously placed on Kenslee’s grave. One of them contained a colorful metal butterfly pick that read “To Our Angel…with deepest gratitude,” according to Debbie.

Two years ago, Kenslee’s family received a letter, via Life Banc, from the mother of the15-year-old male who had received her lungs. His name is Max. The only information that Max’s family had been given was that his donor was a 14-year-old girl. In her letter, Max’s mother, Mary, referred to his donor as “our angel.”

Amy sent a reply letter to Max’s mother, via Life Banc, telling them all about Kenslee and saying the family would love to communicate with, and possibly even meet, Max’s family. After two years and no response, Kenslee’s family resigned themselves to the fact there would be no more communication, however the family suspected the two bushes may have come from Max’s family.

Debbie posted about the bushes on her Facebook page. The family's suspicions were confirmed when Amy received a call from Life Banc, telling her a mistake was made and Max’s family had not received her reply letter.

It was through Mary’s research of news articles that she came across the successful kidney transplant story of Casey Phillips at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Casey’s transplant occurred on the same day as Max’s, and the donor was a 14-year-old girl. Mary felt there were too many similarities for this to be a coincidence. Through Casey’s story, Mary discovered the Facebook profile of Cory. Through his Facebook page she came upon Debbie’s Facebook page where she found countless pictures and stories of Kenslee. Mary followed Debbie’s page for three years. However, since they never received a response from their letter, Max’s family was not 100% certain that Kenslee was their donor angel. It was when Mary saw Debbie’s post about the butterfly bushes and the suspicions the family had, she contacted Life Banc. Soon after, Mary received and was able to read Amy’s reply letter.

Both families signed the necessary consent forms and Mary, Cory and Amy were finally able communicate. Mary confirmed she had place the butterfly bushes on Kenslee’s grave on the three-year anniversary of transplant day. The butterfly is the symbol of lung transplant.

The families anticipated meeting each other and decided Labor Day weekend would be the perfect time. Mary made the trip to Newcomerstown from New Jersey. Over the course of the weekend, she attended Kaelyn’s freshman volleyball game, participated in a family cookout and visited Kenslee’s grave.

Undiagnosed health issues at age 12

Mary also shared Max's story with Kenslee’s family.

Max was 12 when he began to experience undiagnosed health issues. In July 2020, he was 15 and on a family vacation when he began laboring to breathe and had to be hospitalized. Doctors told Mary and her husband, Mark, Max had an incurable lung condition called pulmonary vascular occlusive disease. It causes scar tissue to form within the blood vessels in the lungs, which leads to a lack of oxygen in the blood and a backup of pressure in the right side of the heart. The only treatment is a double-lung transplant.

Max underwent testing and was placed on the organ transplant list. Two weeks later his lungs began to fail. He became bedridden and his family prayed for a miracle. He received Kenslee's lungs.

Today, Max advocates for organ donation. He testified before the State Attorney General regarding the need for reform with how DMV employees are trained regarding organ donation awareness. He has raised thousands of dollars for the New Jersey Sharing Network to help further organ transplant research. And the once 12-year-old sick boy just entered his freshman year at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Local teen's organ donation helped many others