NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - A New Hampshire boy hit a major milestone in his road to recovery on Tuesday, completing a 10-mile race run after a rare condition left him suddenly paralyzed four years ago.
Brandon Sarette was a healthy 11-year-old when in the middle of the night in 2018, he woke up to find he could not feel his legs.
“I tried to stand up to walk to (my parents’) room, but I just fell over,” he said.
Brandon said he had to crawl to his parents’ room to alert them.
“I just remember the night like yesterday,” said his father, James Sarette. “All of a sudden, he couldn’t walk.”
“At 3 o’clock in the morning, when I felt him hit me in the arm and said he couldn’t feel his legs, I picked him up and he collapsed on the floor,” his mother Becky Sarette told 7NEWS.
His parents rushed Brandon to a local hospital near their home in Kingston, before being sent to Boston Children’s Hospital, where a team of neurologists were waiting.
“After several days, he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which is a rare autoimmune, basically, his own body attacked his spinal cord,” Becky Sarette explained.
The family learned a small lesion on Brandon’s spine had left him paralyzed for several days, and on the road to recovery for several months.
“It took a couple months to fully be able to walk again,” Brandon said.
Not only did he walk again, Brandon was able to play basketball and, eventually, football for Sanborn High School, a journey his coach said was nothing short of amazing to watch.
“To go through what he’s gone through and be here today, running this race is just amazing,” Josh White said. “So we’re here to support him and just super proud of him.”
Following his diagnosis, Brandon created the “B Strong” campaign, selling more than $5,000 worth of shirts which supporters wore at Tuesday’s Yankee Homecoming Road Race in Newburyport.
Proceeds from the merchandise fund research into transverse myelitis, which does not have a known cure.
Running with his brother this week, the teenager said he hopes to raise more awareness for the condition. His sibling said he couldn’t be more proud.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” Matt Sarette told 7NEWS. “He’s a hard worker. He deserves it.”
The two ran mile after mile Tuesday evening, finishing to the cheers of family members who have supported Brandon throughout his recovery.
“He’s, in our eyes, a miracle and a blessing and we love him very much, and the town has wrapped their arms around us and has really supported him and all of us,” Becky Sarette said. “We’re grateful.”
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