Zach Branson's Story

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My name is Zach Branson. I was born to Kelly Jeanine Flowers and Todd Branson on January

2, 1987 in Grand Junction, CO. Within 1-2 weeks of my birth, I was diagnosed (in Denver) with

biliary atresia. Biliary Atresia is a blockage in the tubes (ducts) that carry a liquid called bile from the

liver to the gallbladder. Biliary atresia occurs when the bile ducts inside or outside the liver do not

develop normally. It is not known why the biliary system fails to develop normally.

The bile ducts help remove waste from the liver and carry salts that help the small intestine

break down (digest) fat. In babies with biliary atresia, bile flow from the liver to the gallbladder is

blocked. This can lead to liver damage and cirrhosis of the liver, which is deadly if not treated. Biliary

atresia is rare and only affects about one out of every 18,000 infants. The disease is more common in

females, premature babies, and children of Asian or African American heritage

At roughly five weeks old (2//13/1987) I had my first operation, the Kasai procedure at the

University of Colorado Hospital by Dr. John R. Lilly, M.D. Upon entering my abdomen I was

discovered to be completely absent of extrahepatic ducts.

On 5/15/1987 I underwent a revision to the original Kasai in an attempt to control excessive bile

loss.

I had numerous complications early on as I was in the hospital most of my infant life.

When I was roughly 3 years old and my younger sister, Ashley, was one, my mom introduced

us to a new man that would eventually marry our mom and become our “Dad.” They married in 1992.

I attended Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary School in Grand Junction, CO. I grew up with a

fairly normal childhood. With the exception that I wasn't allowed to play sports. One hit to the liver

could have killed me. I had occasional bouts of cholangitis that would prompt E.R. visits and hospital

stays.

When I was eight years old my mom, stepdad, sister, and I moved to Las Vegas, NV and lived

there for roughly six years. While living in Las Vegas I can't recall having any major episodes where I

was hospitalized.

In 1999 or 2000 my mom and dad separated and got divorced due to infidelity on my mother's

part. My mom, sister and I moved in with my mom's boyfriend, Danny, and lived with him for a year

or two where my mom became addicted to crystal methamphetamine and alcohol.

I had to go to Children's Hospital in Denver once a year for extensive check-ups and

procedures. At the last of these check-ups when I was 13 or 14 years old I brought up to my liver

specialists the use of marijuana as a medicine and tried to confirm from them that marijuana was in fact

not dangerous medically. This was because my mom didn't like me using marijuana and tried to tell me

all the time that it was bad for my liver. I’m sure she also feared it being a “gateway” drug; as it was

for her. My doctors neither confirmed nor denied that marijuana was beneficial and not dangerous.

That right there said it all to me. I instantly knew something was up.

I was introduced to marijuana when I was roughly 12 years old by my two best friends Eric and

Matias. I instantly knew that cannabis was for me. Controlling my pain and nausea with cannabis was

working better for me than the pills the doctors were giving me, they did nothing but make me sick.

While in the eighth grade I was caught with possession of marijuana and I was arrested(handcuffed and

escorted off school property in front of half the school population and shoved in the back of a police

cruiser) and sent to juvenile detention for having 2-3 grams. I was in a holding cell for roughly 8-10

hours before my mom came and picked me up. I was put on probation, had to pay fines, restitution, had

community service and mandatory random UA's. I continued to use marijuana without any fear of the

consequences I could have faced due to its amazing ability to keep me pain free. I was never taken to

my random (scheduled but I didn't know dates) UA's. When Ashley and I were sent to Phoenix to stay

with our biological dad my mom was notified by law enforcement in Las Vegas that I was in violation

of probation and I was scheduled for a court appearance. I was told that I could have faced anywhere

from 1-3 years in juvenile detention for probation violation. My mom went to the court date on my

behalf as I was out of state. She informed the Judge of the situation and where I was living. So the

judge dropped/dismissed the charges and said I was Arizona's problem now.

In the summer of 2001 Ashley and I visited with our biological father who lives in Phoenix,

AZ. Towards the end of the summer, due to my mom's substance abuse and relationship problems she

lost her job. Ashley and I started that school year in Phoenix. We were in school for roughly 3-4 weeks

before Ashley and I were then sent to live with our stepdad who moved back to Grand Junction after he

and my mom divorced.

Because the school systems’ were so different between Grand Junction and Phoenix, I was

unable to start school for a couple months. My mom eventually moved back to Grand Junction a few

months later and she was pregnant with Ashley and I's younger sister Lenaye. Lenaye's dad was my

mom's boyfriend Danny. Ashley and I moved back in with our mom, staying with a few different

friends before we got our own apartment.

At this point I was a sophomore in high school and had only been enrolled in high school for 2

months so I had zero credits. I was enrolled in Palisade high School in Palisade, CO. My sophomore

year of high school I ditched school a lot. I did this in rebellion I believe or for attention from my mom

because all of her attention was on alcohol, and her alcoholic friends. I spent a lot of time doing

whatever I pleased whenever I pleased. I met my 2 best friends my sophomore year. The first one was

a classmate of mine named Brian. The second was a recent A&P college graduate Russell. Russell

became more or less a mentor for Brian and I as Russell is a complete genius. He specializes in

mechanics. He is certified to work on anything that has an engine. The 3 of us spent a lot of time

together.

Because my mom was focused on her friends and alcohol I got my first job at 15 years old

working at KFC to help support myself. From my very first job I have been praised and a highly valued

member of the team as I take pride in the work I do, whatever it might be.

At the beginning of Brian and I's junior year we decided that we wanted to finish school and do

something with our lives. So we got a recommendation from our principal to be enrolled in an

alternative school that helps you get you high school credits faster than the normal school system. The

school day was 3 hours of straight school assignments and tests. You learn at your own pace more or

less. I started my junior year with 1.5 high school credits. To graduate we were required to have 25

credits. Every day before I went to school I would smoke a few bowls or a couple joints. I did this

because when I did not have any marijuana and went to school without I completed less work. When I

went to school after consuming marijuana I was able to do 2-3 times the amount of work. The entire

school year I was on “Straight-A Honor Roll.” I completed my junior year with roughly 15 high school

credits. This was all while my mom was getting drunk all the time, and hanging out with her alcoholic

friends. Her mom actually came down from Reno, NV and took my mom back up to Reno to a rehab

center for 30 days. Ashley and I were left at home by ourselves for this period of time and left to fend

for ourselves. This was nothing new to us as Ashley and I had raised ourselves since we were 11 and

13 years old, respectively. This was because our mom was constantly gone or doing her own thing. My

mom came back home 30 days later, sober and told us how much she wanted to stop drinking, mainly

because of her youngest daughter Lenaye. Not 2 weeks later she was drinking again with her alcoholic

friends, which were of no support to her at all.

My mom than met a guy named Chris. She eventually moved in with him and I came along as I

was still living with her. Ashley had moved in with her boyfriend and his family as she and my mom

fought too much and couldn't get along because of the drinking. I lived with Chris and my mom for

about two months before I got a job at a housing community doing maintenance work with one of my

mom's ex-boyfriends, Jimmy. Because of this job I was able to get my own place for extremely cheap

as an employee. I jumped at the opportunity as I could not live with my mom anymore. I was also

working at a restaurant at the same time. So I was working two jobs and going to school. That

December I was put on seasonal lay off from the housing community. I immediately got a job installing

rain gutters to be able to afford my rent as it increased because I was technically not an employee

anymore. The scheduling of my new job didn't allow me to continue to go to school for the 3 hours. So

I had to drop out my senior year with only 3.5 credits left to graduate.

That following year(2006) my mom became extremely sick due to her alcoholism. She had

major liver and kidney damage. She was put in the hospital due to this and out on dialysis treatments

because of the extensive damage to her kidneys. She complained about these treatments making her

want to die because they completely drained her body of any nourishment. She was quickly put in

Hospice Care as treatments were not working. On April 11, 2006 at roughly 1:00 am I was called by

my sister Ashley and told that my mom had passed away and that if I wanted to say goodbye to come

before the coroners got there. She passed away in her bed at home in Hospice Care. I showed up and

came in the room where she was laying in bed lifeless. I was given some time alone to say goodbye. I

crawled into the bed, held my mom's hand, looked at her and said my goodbyes and that I loved her.

Her body was extremely cold and hard. This was very hard for me, and still hard for me to even write

as I wasn't around much in her final months and didn't talk to her much at all. In her last few months

alive I never told her that I loved her. This was due to my resentment at the time for her actions and

lack thereof as a mother. The next few months were extremely difficult for me to process. I was given

a few days off of work paid. So I spent 99% of that time on the Colorado National Monument with my

best friend Stephanie. This helped me a lot to be in nature and just get away.

The following is a letter that my mom wrote to me on September 5, 2005, eight months before

she passed away. I was given this letter at her memorial service on April 22, 2006.

“Dear Zach,

I'm not sure what to say to you because you are a lot like me... very emotional. You may not show it

but I know. You are a kind, smart and loving person. From the moment I gave birth to you, we had a

huge bond and connection between the two of us! As you grew older, you were less dependent on me

and that scared me. I know a mom needs to let a child “bloom.”

Please always know that I love you very much! I would do anything for you. But drinking was a way

out for me, as pot is for you. I guess giving up is a loser way out but I feel that I have nothing to give

anymore. None of this was your fault and I will always be with you in your heart. Be strong and never

give up!

Always - Mom”

I spent the next few years just working and trying to get by. I did the gutter work, than worked

for a Dollar Rent a Car/Thrifty Car Rental Franchise. In late November of 2008 I was hospitalized

because I had extremely bad abdominal pain going on. So bad that I was literally in tears and could

hardly move out of the fetal position. I went to the E.R. at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction 3

separate times, each time they sent me home with antibiotics and pain killers. The fourth emergency

room visit because of the same excruciating pain they finally put me in a hospital bed and admitted me.

The doctors had no real diagnosis other than a guess that I had a bout of cholangitis again. This was

unlike any pain I have ever experienced. It is indescribable really. I was in the hospital for roughly a

week, being pumped with high doses of antibiotics and pain killers straight through IV. I was being

visited by hospital staff that were giving me info on how to apply for disability as the doctors would

not give me a release to go back to work. I needed this release from doctors to go back to work because

my employer's required it when missing work for an extended period of time, due to insurance reasons.

So when I was released from the hospital I went through all the steps applying for disability.

After 4 months of jumping through hoops for the SSA they sent me to see one of their doctors. This

appointment lasted a maximum of 15 minutes where the doctor had me bend over, he checked my

lungs, heart rate, pulse, and reflexes. That was the extent of my disability examination. This exam says

nothing about what's going on with the inside of body. So based on the report from that, the SSA

denied my disability application. This is absurd because I am disabled and fall into the SSA's category

of disabled persons. My mother had me on disability when I was a child and then took me off of it at

some point for some reason that I am unaware of. Because of the copy of that doctor's report, my

former employer at Thrifty Car Rental was able to put me back at my position.

In October of 2010 the owners of the Thrifty Car Rental I worked at were no longer able to

keep the business open so we were all laid off. Because I could not find any work anywhere I applied

for unemployment. I was on this unemployment for roughly 1.5 years because I couldn't find work. My

unemployment paid me more than a minimum wage job would.

When my unemployment ran out my Dad Kenny had started a little lawn maintenance company and

needed an extra helper. This was in the summer of 2012. I attempted to work for him but I couldn't do

the work anymore. I was getting extremely exhausted and sick when I would. I couldn't get through 3-4

hours without being done for the day and not wanting to do anything else. Because of this and knowing

I wasn't going to have a steady income I contacted my landlords and explained to them the situation

and gave them a 30-day notice on September 1, 2012. Asking them to use my last month's rent for

September and I would eat my security deposit for breaking my lease 4 months early. I was sent a copy

of their move-out procedures with a note at the top that read, “ Since you are still under lease, we can

not apply your last months rent for September 2012 rent.” So because I had no income to pay my

September rent I was served an eviction notice. I then moved in with my grandma (Kenny's mom).

After 1 week of me being there my grandma kicked me out of her house because I was accused of

leaving her front door wide open all night long. I locked the door when I came in that night. The likely

explanation would be that her son (Kenny's brother) and his girlfriend were staying the night there that

night as well and were drinking. So the person I am currently living with is my sister Ashley and my

soon to be 5-year old niece because the rest of our family will not help me or us out. I have an eviction

on my record that has a $1,900 bill that is stopping me from being able to be put on a lease.

So I applied for disability again at the end of August 2012. I went through all of their hoops

again. I made an appointment to see liver specialists in Denver. They confirmed that I still have biliary

atresia and that it is a life threatening disease and I could end up in end stage liver disease any day and

need a liver transplant. This report was sent to the SSA. I also acquired a letter from my childhood

physician stating that I have a debilitating chronic liver disease. This was also sent to the SSA. I also

acquired copies of all my medical records from Children's Hopsital Colorado, The Univeristy of

Colorado Hospital, and some from St. Mary's. These copies of medical records and surgery reports

amount to about 100-200 pages. Every single page was sent to the SSA. The SSA then sent me to a

another one of their doctors. When I went to this appointment I brought all my medical records and

explained to him that the last time I was in for this type of exam all they did was what I stated earlier. I

also explained to him my whole situation and what my disease was. Because when he first walked in to

see me, he admitted to me that he had to look up what biliary atresia was because he hadn't heard of it.

I found this to be odd. Because of my statements this prompted the doctor to request the SSA order a

blood sample to go along with the report. The report being a physical exam where my flexibility is

examined. My lungs, heart rate and blood pressure were measured. When my blood work came back

along with the physical report the SSA denied my application. They denied it because at the time of my

blood draw, my bilirubin count and liver enzymes were within MY normal range. I'm not sure what

specific enzyme levels are and what “my normal” range is. But “my normal” range of bilirubin count is

anywhere from 1.5-4 on any given day. The average person with a normally functioning liver has a

“normal” bilirubin count of about 0.5.

I hired attorneys to assist me in the appeals process for disability. They are working on a

retainer basis where they do not charge me unless they win my case. They feel strongly enough that I

have a case that they took me on as a client and are pursuing my appeal at the time of this was written. I

have contacted my State Senators and Representatives to assist in expediting my case because I was

given a letter by the SSA recently that my hearing won't be for 12-14 months.

I am currently researching the many benefits and uses of cannabis. More specifically, the

medical uses and growing high quality marijuana producing high quality concentrated cannabis oil for

the treatment of numerous diseases and illnesses. I am also trying to start a foundation. I want to start a

foundation in the name and memory of my mother. This foundation's purpose will be to raise

awareness on the benefits of medical cannabis and more specifically, Concentrated Cannabis Oil for

virtually any disease. We will also raise money for medical marijuana growing operations to supply

patients with medicine at little to no charge, and financial assistance for those that are devastated by the

extreme cost of western medicine. I really want this to happen as I believe I, along with the help of

others, can save many lives and bring a quality of life that is unachievable by living in a hospital being

given horrible pharmaceuticals. I have spent my fair share of time in hospitals and I can say it is not at

all a comfortable, fun environment. This will take a lot of work but I believe I can do this, and it will be

well worth it. I am a current Colorado Medical Marijuana license holder.

I have a Facebook Page (Zach Branson's Liver Disease Awareness) where I share information

on the countless uses of marijuana and to remove marijuana from the controlled substances act. Not

only as a medicine, but for food, fuel, clothing, housing, etc. I also have a fundraising website where

donations can be made to help make these dreams possible.

My Facebook Page URL is: https :// www . facebook . com / ZachBransonsLiverDiseaseAwareness

My fundraising page URL is: https :// fundrazr . com / campaigns /3 NKRf