Category: Mission Moment

For many families facing the uncertainty of a life-threatening diagnosis, the waiting game can be a source of anxiety and frustration. For four-year-old Walker and his parents, Kristen and Doug, the wait for Walker’s heart transplant uprooted them from their home, jobs, family, and friends for over a year. During that time, the family found a supportive community at Brent’s Place, one offering fun activities, meal support, financial security, and much more.

“We knew Brent’s Place would be our home for a while,” Kristen said. “It’s a special place to us. We’re with families that are going through the same thing, and we’re all going through it together. It’s more than an apartment. It’s friendship.”

After 372 days at Brent’s Place, Walker’s health had improved enough for the family to return home to New Mexico. But less than two months later, a surprise call came on Mother’s Day: the wait was over. Walker’s heart was ready.

Navigating the sobering knowledge that their joy was another family’s sorrow, the trio headed back to Aurora. Since Walker’s successful transplant, the family has returned once more to Brent’s Place where they can rest easy, knowing the stay won’t affect their finances. That same compassionate community that welcomed them in early 2021 is there, ready and willing, to provide the support they’ll need as Walker heals. Their family is looking forward to heading home together soon, healed and hopeful.

Over the past six months, Brent’s Place has served as an oasis for 150+ families, each far from home in search of a medical miracle. In total, eleven of those were families caring for a loved one in the process of receiving a solid organ transplant. This life-saving procedure requires patients and their caregivers to remain in close proximity to the hospital for an average of six to nine months as they prepare, wait, and heal. Families who hail from small or rural hometowns must relocate for the duration in order to access the cutting-edge medical care they require, which is only available in the largest metropolitan areas. But while this move is necessary, it is also an exceedingly difficult transition, removing families from the comforts of home and habit during a period of great fear and uncertainty. It also results in significant financial burdens that come from maintaining two households simultaneously and job loss or time away from work.

Brent’s Place is able to step in to serve families at this critical point of relocation by offering comprehensive support programming and specialized Safe-Clean accommodations while they are away from home. It truly becomes an oasis of understanding, community, and practical support. Over the past six months, Brent’s Place has supported resident families without ever presenting them with a bill for their stay.

This includes children like five-month-old Declan, who has been a patient at one of

Brent’s Place’s partnering hospitals since birth. His family has been staying at Brent’s Place nearly his entire life – from the earliest months when Declan struggled to survive through his receipt of a life-saving heart transplant at three months old. They are still

residents today – but now, instead of going from despair to hope and back again, they are rejoicing at every turn as Declan grows stronger each day. The family expects to return home to Wyoming in several months, with a happy and recovering baby boy along for the ride for the very first time.

Unlike Declan’s family, not all caregivers live at Brent’s Place while their loved one remains in-patient at the hospital; many transplant patients reside with their families at Brent’s Place during the waiting and recovery process. Wilfred, an adult liver transplant recipient, recently stayed at Brent’s Place with his wife, Bernice, for more than a month following his transplant.

Prior to this, Wilfred struggled with health challenges for many years. After successful treatments for cancer, his physicians discovered he was experiencing liver failure attributable to his aggressive cancer treatments. Wilfred was finally able to receive the transplant he desperately needed following several discouraging starts and stops. Two days after being discharged following successful surgery, they moved into Brent’s Place. In addition to avoiding the steep financial burden of paying for hotels out-of-pocket by staying at Brent’s Place, Wilfred and Bernice were bolstered by the support and care they received as residents. Bernice took guitar lessons and baked bread for the Brent’s Place friends she quickly became close with; Wilfred loved having hot meals delivered instead of cooking. Both were deeply grateful for the spacious, clean apartment (their grandchildren, for whom they are the primary caregivers, came to visit twice!) and workout room, which was helpful as Wilfred regained his strength. After 32 days, Wilfred and Bernice were able to go back home to New Mexico and be with their family. They will be returning to a Brent’s Place hospitality suite when they need to be in Denver for follow-up care, but, in the meantime, Wilfred is enjoying finally getting back on his Harley motorcycles!

While each solid organ transplant family has their own unique story to tell, they all have one thing in common: a need for Brent’s Place. These patients, siblings, and caregivers are dramatically impacted by the accommodations, individualized respite care, and the sense of community they experience while they are residents. Through your compassion and generosity, you contribute significantly to this life-changing impact – bringing a home to families for as long as they need us.