Brandon Hampson: Brandon's Story -- Learning and Sharing

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Lessons Learned Along the Way

As we lived each day with Brandon during his illness, we learned some things about being healthy, about being sick, and what we believed to be important and true in life. In our email update of Wednesday, June 15, 2005, only 11 days before he passed on, we collected a few of our lessons learned along the way. Those heartfelt thoughts were the beginning of our Learning and Sharing web site where we continue to expand and enhance these ideas.

We do this in the hope that we may help bring health, joy, peace and meaning to others.

And we do this because Brandon, in his lifelong quest to always be helpful and kind, would have wanted us to do so.

Lessons Learned Along The Way, 2004/05:

Treasure each day everyone you love is healthy and whole.

Focus on the moment.

Don’t take fewer pictures and videos of your kids just because they got big. If anyone in the family won’t have their photo taken, cajole or threaten them till they relent.

Hug often.

Eat your fruits and vegetables, especially the colorful ones. All vegetables are good, but the five “best” are broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, garlic and onions. Among the “finest” fruits are blueberries, strawberries, papayas, pineapple, kiwi, citrus, bananas and mangoes.

No matter how well you think you’re eating, the American diet and food supply aren’t all that they should be. Learn about nutrition. Enjoy salmon and soy, sip green tea, avoid unhealthy fats, find ways to add flax oil and fiber, and try to buy organic. Don’t eat things that won’t rot (but eat them before they do!) or that have ingredients you can’t pronounce. Take high-quality multivitamins.

Always say good night.

Using a cell phone without an ear bud just isn’t worth the risk.

Never ever let anyone you love be without good health insurance. The costs of care often are astronomical. Quality insurance buys the best treatment at prices you still can afford.

If you get sick, do your homework. Find a good doctor and be able to hold up your end of the conversation.

Memories are magic. Hours spent together over the dinner table, attending school and social events and visiting far-away places are all the more meaningful when times are tough.

Even if it’s just to watch movies, buy a big screen TV. (Trust us on this one.)

Remember to laugh, even in the darkest of times.

Don’t take tomorrow for granted. No matter how hard you work or how well you plan, nothing is as certain as it seems.

We’re all stronger than we think we are and can do things we never dreamed would be asked of us.

Love, compassion and kindness transcend all else.

The caring of other people makes the worst moments in this life more bearable.