YouTuber Brittani Boren Leach tragically lost her 3-month-old son days after he was found unresponsive on Christmas.
The 29-year-old YouTuber, who regularly posts about her family in her vlogs, shared the heartbreaking news via her Instagram. Beginning the day after Christmas, Leach began imploring her followers for their prayers after her youngest son Crew stopped breathing during a nap on Christmas day. “I don’t have any words right now, other than to desperately ask for your prayers,” she wrote alongside an image of her son’s tiny hand. “While at a relative’s house last night, Crew laid down for a nap and when I went to check on him, he was not breathing. We are living a nightmare, and I’m dying inside. Please pray for my baby. This can’t be real.”
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Over the next several days, Leach continued to post updates. Two days after Christmas, Leach and her husband Jeff updated their followers with Crew’s condition. “Right now Crew is ‘stable’ and the ventilator is breathing for him. They are working on stabilizing his body and tomorrow he will have an MRI to determine his brain function and that will determine the next step,” she wrote. “I can’t explain to you what this feels like… Please continue to pray. Please. I don’t think I can go on without him.”
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Unfortunately, Crew never recovered. On Saturday, Leach told her followers that Crew was “dancing and playing in Heaven.”
“We need prayer now, more than before, specifically prayers for peace and clarity on the decisions that have to be made, and for our hearts, the pain is unbearable,” she wrote. “I keep thinking that I will wake up from this nightmare, but I don’t. The outpouring of love and support has been astounding and we cannot even comprehend the amount of love we have been shown.”
The comment sections for each of the posts were flooded with heartfelt messages from followers. According to a Facebook post from Leach’s husband, not all of the messages the family received were well-intentioned, however. “My wife & I have received an influx of followers on various social media channels. We appreciate everyone who wants to connect with us to offer their love & support,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, there are also people out there who do not have pure intentions when they follow or comment on our family. Only they can explain their motivations. The last few days have been a nightmare for our family. We love our son with all our heart. We didn’t ask for this. We don’t expect anything from anyone. We are not prepared for the attention we are receiving.”
A GoFundMe dedicated to Crew with a goal of $100,000 has already racked up more than $118,000 from 4,800 donors. In the comments on the page, the community came together in support of the Leach family. “I am praying for you and your family to find peace in all of the chaos you have been through,” one commenter wrote. “No family should every have to feel the pain you are feeling. I am so sorry.”
On Christmas Eve, Leach wished her 814,000 followers a “Merry Christmas Eve from our very loud, crazy, and beautiful blended family. I cannot say ‘thank you’ enough, for all the love you’ve shown us this year,” she wrote alongside a photo of the entire Leach family.
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H/T Daily Mail