UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation helps boy with cerebral palsy be ‘like his peers’

Aug. 30, 2023

Video

Braxton's story

Video transcript

White text appears over a field near a farmhouse and a red barn:

ONSCREEN TEXT: Braxton’s Story Dover, MN

Inspiring, steady acoustic guitar music plays. A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes speaks, and a blue banner appears to her left with white text inside:

ONSCREEN TEXT: Brooke Braxton’s Mom

BROOKE: I want to be a better person because of him.

A man with short grey hair and blue eyes speaks in a kitchen. A blue banner with white text appears to his left:

ONSCREEN TEXT: Brian
Braxton’s Stepdad

BRIAN: He makes me happy every single day. I smile every single time I get to interact with him.

A little boy with light brown hair and blue glasses plays Lego on a living room floor.

BRAXTON: This battle does not actually happen. It’s just made up by me. We’ve got a bad guy base; we’ve got some good guys and stuff over here.

Brooke, Brian, and a younger little boy with curly blond hair join Braxton. They play with Lego and toy dinosaurs. Outside, Braxton and his little brother play with toy lightsabers on a basketball court. Brooke and Brian look on with big smiles.

BROOKE: He loves playing Star Wars, Legos, toys get him excited. He makes everyone happy. He is happy, he makes others around him happy.

BROOKE: Braxton likes to narrate his world, as I say. He loves to talk; he loves to talk to people—that’s how his excitement comes through.

Photos appear of a tiny, very premature baby on a ventilator, with a PICC line.

BROOKE: Braxton was born prematurely at 24 weeks and six days—an unexpected premature birth. The cerebral palsy diagnosis came at about two years, although we knew it was coming. When he was diagnosed, he couldn’t sit up, couldn’t roll over—you know those milestones that you’re waiting for to happen—was not able to crawl. So I just decided that no matter how sad I was, I just said ‘I need to devote my life to trying to help him.’

In photos, toddler Braxton smiles in glasses. Now he stands in a stall in a barn, brushing a pinto horse’s flank.

BRAXTON: I’m brushing his neck. I’m just doing it because he really likes it.

Braxton smiles, wearing a riding helmet as he leads the horse into an arena. Brooke helps him into the saddle.

BROOKE: We found horseback riding when he was three. The studies do show that the horse’s gait is similar to a human walking, so we just kept going and then one day he liked it, and then one day he loved it. He’ so excited, and when I asked him ‘Why do you like horse riding?’—

BRAXTON: I think it’s just calming and relaxing, and it’s fun.

Now Braxton rides the horse, following a woman across the arena. The horse kicks up dirt as it canters behind her.

BROOKE: He can talk while he’s on the horse, so he loves that.

The horse kicks a giant soccer ball while Braxton rides.

BRAXTON: This should be a new sport! Horse riding soccer!

Braxton walks beside the horse while the woman leads the horse back to its stall.

BROOKE: It’s something that he can do, and hopefully can do for the rest of his life.

BRIAN: And the support that we’ve gotten from so many people has just been overwhelming to us.

In a photo, Braxton smiles before a wall decal reading “NAPA: Neurological and Physical Abilitation Center.” A physical therapist supports him while he wears a mobility harness. Braxton smiles in an adaptive tricycle, and two physical therapists support him while he rings a bell at the top of a climbing wall. He holds out a unicorn squeeze toy with a big smile.

BROOKE: UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation supported us by funding the intensive therapies at NAPA. Intensive carries a large price tag, and your insurance isn’t going to cover that. And then helping us purchase the adaptive tricycle.

On a dirt road, Braxton wears a bike helmet and rides the adaptive tricycle. His little brother runs alongside him and claps as they reach the driveway of the house.

BRIAN: It’s just helped his development, it’s helped him progress in ways that he wouldn’t have been able without that support.

BROOKE: I can’t tell you if he could dress himself if we hadn’t gone there. I can tell you he wouldn’t have a bike. We just couldn’t afford it. The bike is definitely more than just a bike. It’s an equalizer, just kind of like the horse is. It’s the great equalizer where he can be equivalent to his peers. The grants have definitely improved his quality of life.

In the kitchen, someone offscreen asks Brian questions that appears as subtitles:

ONSCREEN TEXT: How proud are you of him?
What kind of joy has he brought you in your life personally?

Brian chuckles, then shakes his head. His eyes fill with tears and he holds back a sob. Brian wipes his eyes.

BRIAN: I’m sorry. Just...I mean he’s...he’s one of a kind. I’m a better person because of him. I’ve become a better person by knowing Braxton.

Braxton grins as he plays with his toy lightsaber. Brooke smiles.

BROOKE: I hope he knows that he can achieve anything, and I hope he’s happy, and that he never loses his joy.

The music builds and concludes as the family smiles, sitting on their lawn with their arms around each other. The view fades to a white background with blue text in the center beside a blue and yellow illustration of a butterfly:

ONSCREEN TEXT: United Healthcare

Children’s Foundation

The view fades to black.

Braxton is a spirited little boy who is much like his peers in many ways. He enjoys Star Wars battles and building Legos — and connecting with others, especially with his infectious joy.

Braxton’s mom, Brooke and his stepdad, Brian, say they are in awe of how far their son has come.

Braxton was born prematurely at 24 weeks. As he grew, his parents noticed something was off. He was missing major milestones like rolling over, sitting up and crawling. At the age of 2, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

“I just decided that no matter how sad I was, I just said, I’m going to devote my life to trying to help him,” Brooke said.

To support Braxton’s growth and development, he requires intensive therapies, which can be quite costly. That’s when the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation stepped in.

“The grants have definitely helped improve his life,” Brooke said.

Without the therapy he’s received, Brooke said he wouldn’t be able to dress himself.

“It’s just helped his development. It’s helped him progress in ways he wouldn’t have been able without that support,” Brian said.

The UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation (UHCCF) also helped Braxton’s family purchase an adaptive tricycle.

“The bike is definitely more than just a bike. It’s an equalizer … where he can be equivalent to his peers,” Brooke said.

Since 2007, UHCCF has awarded more than 34,000 grants valued at over $70 million. The funding pays for children’s medical expenses not covered, or not fully covered, by a commercial health insurance plan.

The goal is to support families like Braxton’s so they can focus on what’s most important – improving their child’s quality of life. The grants help cover medical services and equipment like various therapies, counseling services, surgeries, prescriptions, wheelchairs and more.

Are you eligible?

Grant recipients must be 16 years old or younger at the time of application
Must meet eligible income requirements
Must be children under the care of a licensed medical professional with services rendered within the United States
Primary coverage for a child must be by a commercial health plan, either through an employer or individually purchased. Secondary insurance through Medicaid or CHIP is permissible.
Children do not need to be insured by UnitedHealthcare.

Do you know a family who could benefit from a children’s medical grant? Visit UHCCF.org for more information on how to apply.

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