The end result

Final weigh in results (enter dramatic music here): I knew it was going to be close and it was. The final weigh in was audited by my official scale auditor (my fabulous wife Robin Perez Brookhart). The weigh in was also done on the same scale I used when I started this challenge.

Now for the number...... as of this morning I'm down 74.6 lbs! I might have fallen just short of 75 lbs but I am so happy and proud of this accomplishment. I know Brady would have been proud of me and it has been very healing to help others through our loss. With gift matching this will raise just under $11,000 for Angel Eyes. To those who pledged money I will send you a note later this week on where to send your donations. If you are interested in donating and haven't pledged an amount let me know and I will send you information on where to send your donation. Thanks again to all of you for your support. Now I'm off to get a cheeseburger (just kidding).

The finish line is here

Tomorrow is the big weigh in day. I will let you all know how the final weigh in goes. I can say that I have given this my all and I know that Brady would have been proud of me. Thank you all for your support.

Adam

Why am I doing this?

Since I started this weight loss journey I have had a lot of people ask me why I am doing this. I don't think I've blogged about this and I figured now is a good time because this is what is fueling my fire to the finish line.

Why am I doing a fundraiser during the worst time of my life?

• Robin and I have been very blessed to have a very strong support system. We have families, bosses, co-workers, and employers that really helped us during our darkest days. Most parents going through this aren't as blessed as we are and I want to make sure they get the help that they need.
• Parents that lose an infant due to SIDS, still born, miscarriage, or illness need support. A few days after we lost Brady Angel Eyes contacted us to let us know that they were there to help. This was a foggy time for me but I remember I received information before we buried Brady. They gave us information about the grieving process, their counseling services, as well as a monthly meeting led by a certified counselor where parents meet that are going through a similar journey. I can't stress how much it meant to me to know that we weren't alone. At the same time it makes me EXTREMELY mad to know that we aren't alone.
• Since losing Brady I've had at least 10 people reach out to me to let me know that they were directly or indirectly impacted by child loss or SIDS. I've also known of three other children lost to SIDS, or have been stillborn since Brady passed away. This is way too many babies lost and too many families grieving. The pain and loss that we feel each and every day needs to have something positive come out of it.

 Thanks again to all of you for your love and support.

Adam

Getting close to the finish line

It has been a while since I blogged about my progress. For some reason I haven't felt much like writing about my progress or the journey I have been on. I'm still working hard at losing weight to raise money for Angel Eyes in Brady's name. With two weeks to go I am down 66 lbs which is great but I am still 9 lbs short of my weight loss goal of 75 lbs. I am really buckling down the last two weeks to achieve this goal. I know that each step I take, each weight I lift, and every pound that I lose will help support parents that lose their infant son or daughter to SIDS.

If you haven't pledged yet but would like to support my efforts to raise funds for Angel Eyes please send me an email to adambrookhart@gmail.com. I will send you my address where you can send your donation. My next post will be at the finish line on October 16th.

Adam

Half time check in

I'm already a little over half way through this journey. It seems like yesterday when I started working out to raise money for Angel Eyes. So far I'm down 44.4 lbs in 13 weeks which isn't too shabby. Each pound I lose raises $69.50 so I've reached $3058.00 raised in Brady's name.

I would like to thank those who have pledged money to support me on this journey. Like I've said in previous blogs I wouldn't be here without your support and without the support of Angel Eyes. I also would like to thank Fitness 19 for the use of their gym and Beth Alvarez (my trainer) for pushing me to do my best every time I work out at the gym.

Look for a lot more from me the 2nd half of this journey!

Thank you!

Adam

Pictures of my progress

I've had a lot of requests to put up photos showing my progress.  To be honest with you I have been holding off because I didn't want to look in my rear view mirror to see where I have been. I'm the type of person that only wants to look forward. I decided that today was the day because hitting the 40 lb mark in my weight loss journey is the first milestone that I've hit that I have been happy with.

On 4/13/12 when this picture was taken I felt sick both physically and mentally. When you let yourself go as far as I did plus you are dealing with losing your child you can't go too far lower. Today I am down 41 pounds which is a fraction of where I want to be but it feels so good in so many directions. Every step I take on the treadmill is for Brady. Every step I take is to help other parents that lose a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Every time I enter "beast mode" when I am working out with my personal trainer is time where I can help heal my emotional wounds that were inflicted when my one and only child was stolen from me. SIDS I will not give in to you and I will do everything I can do within my power to help others that are robbed by you. No parent should have to bury their child especially when the reason can't be explained.

Even though I am starting to get to the point that I am happy with my progress you all have my word that I will still continue the fight.

Adam

6/24/2012 down 41 lbs. 

41 lbs @ $69.50 per pound lost = $2849.50 raised for Angel Eyes

No Shortcuts

The more I go through this journey the more I learn about life. Working out on the treadmill gives me a lot of time to think about all aspects of my life (sometimes I think I have too much time to think). One thing that popped into my head last week while working out is that there really aren't any shortcuts in life.

Will buying a self help book on how to advance my career help me land my dream job? Nope. More than likely it will end up being a waste of  20 bucks. Will taking a diet pill give me my dream body? Fat chance (pun intended)! Will shoving my feelings and emotions in a closet help me speed up the grieving process? No, unfortunately avoiding grief does nasty things to the soul long term. The bigger things in life take a lot of hard work to get through and the only way to get through them is to do things the right way and to embrace the journey. I'm not one to cut corners.

In the last couple of weeks I've had a lot of people notice that that I've dropped quite a few pounds. Most of them weren't aware that I have been working to raise funds to help families who have lost a child to SIDS. I normally give a brief rundown on what I am doing to raise money. The next question I always get asked is how am I doing it. I'm doing it by eating right and by working out on a regular basis. Who would have known that the doctors were right about diet and exercise? I'm not going to starve my self and I am not going to live at the gym 24x7. I'm just going the things I should have been doing all along. Again I am doing this by doing things the right way.

The only thing that got Robin and I through the first month after we lost Brady is all of the support we received from friends, family, co-workers, and Angel Eyes. It's hard to comprehend what it would be like to lose a child and to not have a support system. It has been very healing to know that our journey will help others down the line that tragically lose a child to SIDS.

So far in 8 weeks I've lost a little over 36 lbs which will raise $2502 for Angel Eyes. I still have over 4 months left and lots of more weight to lose. I'll continue to check in from time to time with my progress.

Thanks to those who are supporting me or just following me through my endeavor.

-Brady's Dad

1st Month Wrap Up

It's been a while since I've checked in with my progress. As of last Saturday I'm down 26.4 lbs which will raise $1807.00 for our local SIDS support group (angeleyes.org). I still have pledges coming in and I'm happy to report that for every pound that I lose $69.50 will go to Angel Eyes. The support I've received has been nothing short of amazing.

One thing that I didn't realize about this process is that working would be therapeutic. I don't know if I can explain it but I feel like it has brought me closer to my son. When I'm on the treadmill I think about what a blessing my little Brady Bug has been to me. In the short 7.5 months Brady was on this earth he taught me so much about love and life. After he passed away he showed me how much I'm loved and supported by so many people. I honestly didn't have a clue how many amazing people I have in my life. He also has brought me much closer to God. These are all things I have going through my head when I'm working out.

Thanks again for your support and for following me on this journey. I'll continue to check in from time to time.

Adam

Beginning the journey

I'm very proud to say that this week resulted in a 15 pound weight loss and potentially raised $851.25 for Angel Eyes. Thank you all again who have pledged money to help families who have also suffered the unexpected loss of a child.

This week and next will be an emotional roller coaster. Next Sunday is Brady's 1st Birthday and this becoming more difficult than I ever thought it would be. This is something that every parent that loses a child to SIDS has to face and there isn't a way around it. Like any part of this journey I know that I need to embrace the pain knowing this is part of the healing process. I would like to think Angel Eyes for sending a nice letter remembering Brady's Birthday and enclosing tips on how we can get through the difficult day. This is another great example of how Angel Eyes helps parents going through this.

I will check in next week to let everyone know my results.


Adam

The first time I held my son. 4/29/11 The best day of my life. I love you Brady.

Tomorrow is the day

Tomorrow is the day that I have been both looking forward to for over a month. For every pound that I lose between 4/16 and 10/16 $50.75 will be raised for angeleyes.org. This will be a lot of blood, sweat, and tears but it will be a great way to honor my son and to help others through a great cause. If you have pledged thanks again for all of your support. If you haven't yet but are interested please let me know. You can send me an email to adambrookhart@gmail.com, post on my facebook page, or add a comment on this blog. Just let me know how much per pound you would like to pledge.

Tears in heaven

As I type this blog I am listening to Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven. In 1991 Eric Clapton lost his son when he fell from window of a 53rd story building. Eric was crushed and he wrote a beautiful song to remember his son. I equate Sudden Infant Death Syndrome to the type of loss Eric suffered. Eric's son was there one day then the next he was gone. This is the same thing that happened to Brady. Brady was such a healthy vibrant boy and nobody including his pediatrician could have seen this coming.

I remember the night before Brady passed away was like any other night. Just like every other night I gave Brady his last bottle then I took him up to his room and rocked him to sleep. Every night I would lay Brady in his crib I always gave him a kiss goodnight and told him "goodnight Brady daddy loves you." This was personal time that Brady and shared every night and now I know how priceless this time was. The last night Brady was on this earth he woke up later in the night and Robin gave him a bottle. She put him down but he was a bit restless. When he wouldn't fall asleep I went into his room, held him in my arms, and he fell asleep. This would be the last time I would hold my beautiful baby boy. I am so grateful I had this extra time with him.

The first couple of weeks after Brady passed away from SIDS I remember I was so in shock and so destroyed that I couldn't cry. I knew that I should be crying but I couldn't. I was so worried about my wife and everyone else around me that I literally wasn't able to handle my own emotions. Everyone tells me how tough I am but they don't see the tears that I cry every day. I cry on my way to and from work, while shopping (most people don't notice) and I cry at home. Most people see the tough Adam and they don't get to see how much this really has impacted me. The core of Adam Brookhart is broken and there isn't anything anyone can do to fix it. The only thing I can do going forward is to make sure everything I do honors my son and makes sure his name and memory lives on.

My previous blog speaks to the support system we have had and how lucky I feel to have everyone in my life supporting us through this. This is very true. I know how I feel today and this is with a lot of support. I know the best way I can help my son's name to live on is to help other grieving parents who have suffered from this terrible loss. This fund raiser will help Brady Robert Brookhart's name live on and will help a great cause. Currently $43.25 per lb I lose will help support parents and families going through this. My goal is to raise $50.00 per lb I lose between 4/16/12 and 10/16/12. If you are able to donate and help this cause please do. To those who have pledged funds thank you because you have no ideal how much this means to me. No parent should have to go through this and when parents do they need all the support they can get. 100% of the funds raised will go to angeleyes.org

Thank you,

Adam Brookhart

Paying it forward

Until you go through something tragic like losing a child you really don't know how many people truly love and care about you. Immediately after this happened we started receiving overwhelming support from our family, friends, co-workers, even strangers. The next day we were receiving truck loads of food from co-workers at the City of Louisville and DIRECTV, we started receiving checks and donations to help out financially, and family members were stepping up in ways that I didn't know was possible. I can't overstate how lucky and blessed we were and are to have such a strong support system.

I know how hard this loss has been for Robin and I but I can't imagine others going through this without a support system. When parents of infants or toddlers unexpectedly lose a child in Colorado Angel Eyes (angeleyes.org) sends them a packet of information on the grieving process and ways they can help them. Their help includes a monthly meeting for grieving parents and family members (Robin and I attend this), one on one counseling, and education on how parents can reduce their chances of SIDS. They really are a great support system for parents going through this

Because we have so blessed with a lot of support I decided that I am going to raise money for Angel Eyes. How am I going to do this? Starting April 16th I am going to start losing weight. I am receiving pledges for every pound I lose for the next 6 months (wrapping up October 16th). October is SIDS awareness month so the time of the donation will be good. I hope to lose a lot of weight in 6 months and raise a ton of money for Angel Eyes. So far I have $38.25 per lb in pledges and I'm hoping to hit $50.00 per lb by April 16th. Also I am very excited to announce that DIRECTV will be matching the donations so $50.00 per lb is really $100.00 per lb. If you are interested in pledging please let me know by posting on this blog or by emailing me at adambrookhart@gmail.com . Again this will go to a great charity.

This weight loss journey is going to be very public and I will be posting my progress on this blog regularly.

The day time stopped

On December 15th, 2011 I received a call from Robin that every parent hopes that they will never receive. I could immediately tell by the tone of her voice that something wasn't right. Robin told me that our son Brady was found at daycare not breathing and that he was being rushed to the hospital by Ambulance. Robin was closer to the hospital than our daycare so she beat the ambulance there. After those words left her lips she broke down and couldn't speak anymore. Someone at the hospital took the phone from her and told me that Brady went down for a nap at daycare and 20 minutes later he was found blue and not breathing. She said that Tracy (our daycare provider and friend), paramedics, and police had been working on him for 20+ minutes and he still didn't have a heart beat and wasn't breathing. I'm not a doctor but I know that anyone not breathing for 20-40 minutes has very little chance of survival. At that point I knew the situation was very grim. I told her that I was 60 miles south in Parker and if "anything needed to be announced" to wait until I got there. I knew in my heart that Brady was gone and I didn't want Robin to be alone when they stopped working on him.

I took the tollway to the hospital because knew that there would be little to no traffic. I called 911to give them a heads up on the situation as well was what I was driving. I wanted to be proactive with telling them so if a police vehicle observed me driving at a high rate of speed that would know what was up and would hopefully leave me alone. Just when I explained the situation I had flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I pulled over and the police officer asked me if I knew that I was going 105 miles per hour. I told him that my son was being rushed to the hospital and I didn't think he was going to make it. He told me to be safe and let me go. That was the longest 60 miles of my life. 

When I finally made it to the hospital someone was waiting for me in the front entrance. She immediately knew who I was and brought me to an empty room and sat me down. As soon as I sat down the doctor came in with a sad look on her face. She started to tell me that they worked on Brady for over 40 minutes and I stopped her there. I said "so basically you are telling me that Brady is gone". She said yes he was gone and they had an entire team of people that worked on him and there wasn't anything they could do. Unfortunately I didn't make it in time. I told her to take me to the room where my wife and son were. On my way to the room I saw several people who looked broken and devastated. These people were first responders, detectives, and the team of doctors that tried to save Brady. This was the first time I saw the impact this tragedy had on everyone. Everyone had broken hearts and we were all thrown into a terrible situation that we didn't deserve. I was taken to a room where my wife and Brady were located. I remember that I wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come. Everything after that became a fog.