William is an 11 year old with early infantile Krabbe Leukodystrophy. He had a stem cell transplant at 5 months old to slow the progression of the disease.
William is the son of Robert and Abbey (Glasgow) Branch. He was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy at the age of 5 months old. Krabbe is a tragic, progressive terminal genetic disorder. The only treatment at this time is a stem cell transplant that needs to be caught at birth, but most do not know until its too late for treatment. Learn more about Newborn Screening at www.huntershope.org. We are here to educate and share our story.
02/24/2026
Just had an Ah-ha moment. They don't happen often anymore because I'm always so stinking exhausted. And because I'm writing exhausted right now, its messy.
It hit me this morning:
I think back to a time before we entered this chaotic wonderfully tragically beautiful world of medically complex.
Remember what you felt like the next day when you didn't get any sleep? Or you didn't feel well, how that made you feel? For those without medically complex kiddos, think back to those newborn years. You felt like a "bag of a$$holes", my husband says.
Then, we'd bounce back. Feel "normal" again because we were able to sleep, or eat, your kid started sleeping more, or even not be so dang stressed out all the time. We don't have that luxury anymore.
Here we are, almost 12 years into living the life of medically complex parents. We have night nursing a few nights now and then, but I don't really rest. My body doesn't know how to do that anymore. I'm always sleeping with one eye open, one ear open, ready to clean up the $hit that is about to hit the fan.
And we are good at it, probably the best there ever will be.
Because we love our child SO DANG MUCH sometimes, I feel like it's killing me.
So, if you feel like you've been drugged today, and the alarms are alarming, or your kiddo is crying and throwing a fit, remember one thing:
YOU ARE BUILT FOR THIS. And because of that, its OK to not be OK. There is no one better at being your child's mama, than you. Even on your crappiest days, when you're running on caffeine and adrenaline, you are better at being your child's parent than anyone will ever be.
-William's Mama
02/19/2026
Do you remember the books, "Chicken Soup for the Soul"?
I enjoyed writing ever since I was a kid. The proof stands in my writings from age 8 forward that my parents preserved for all these years kept safely in totes and boxes. Exhaustion has definitely pulled me away from the level of mental clarity that is needed to write, but it will always be something I enjoy.
When I was a pr***en, Chicken Soup's first edition was released. Those tales inspired me to be better. Not only as a writer, but as a person. How I loved reading those books. I submitted my own personal stories several times and I have no idea if those stories were ever read by anyone else, but knowing my stories could have made a difference for someone else was all I needed to be motivated to keep writing.
One tale gathered by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen in that very first edition, teaches the value of taking simple actions in situations that seem insurmountable. It left a mark for me.
Here is the story:
***
A man was walking along a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. He sees another man in the distance, who is picking things up and throwing them into the ocean. Once close enough, he asked what he's doing, to which the man responds that he's throwing stranded starfish back into the sea. The walker is astonished and incredulously points out that not only are there thousands of starfish on the beach, but that a similar thing would be happening up and down the coast.
"Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?" the man exclaims.
Smiling, the man bends to pick up another starfish and, as he throws it back, says, "Made a difference to that one."
***
For my little Branch family, life has thrown us a hefty curveball with navigating a rare disease. It is often overwhelming and at times I wonder, how can I possibly make a difference when there is so much to consider? I recall that story.
Our power resides in our response. To smiling at a stranger, to giving a few dollars to charity, to being the trustworthy confidant to a friend during their times of difficulty, that hug that student needs to get through the day, to letting go of perfection and realizing that life's beauty is a compilation of messy, sometimes chaotic, events.
I leave you today with The Serenity Prayer that I urge you to repeat to yourself any time life feels out of your control:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Robert recites this prayer to William every night before we put him to bed. I am so incredibly thankful for my Branch boys.
🩵🩵 Abbey 🩵🩵
02/13/2026
Ready for another exciting day of 6th grade! 🎉📚💻😄👨🏼🦼
02/12/2026
Ever wondered what exactly William's parents are all about? Well, the wait is over! 👋🏼 😁 Many of you know us personally, but for those inquiring minds that are new to our family, here's a snapshot of who we are and why we share our story:
William's Dad, Robert, is a Marine Corps Veteran, having served our country across seas during the Iraq War. He earned his degree in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. 🚀 He now works for the Department of the Army as a mechanical engineer making sure our family is always taken care of.
William's Mom, Abbey (that's me!), was born and raised in Iowa. I graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in education. 📚 We lived in Alabama for some time, close to where Robert grew up, while I taught special education for both elementary and high school aged kiddos and was a middle school volleyball coach (all before William). I was accepted into the Educational Leadership (Administration) Graduate program at the University of Alabama; however, life had different, more elaborate and exuberant plans. (William! 🩵🩵)
We devote our time to making sure all is in order for William's care and schooling. We chose to move back to my home state of Iowa due to unmatched reputation of University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital, Medicaid Waiver programs for children with disabilities and the extraordinary educational system, all of which have not disappointed. With my education and experience and Robert's ability to problem solve and love unwaveringly and pretty much do and make anything, we are undoubtedly adequately equipped to be outstanding advocates for our William's every want and need.
The Branch Family is a powerhouse for caring and advocating for our child's needs, and subsequently fighting for Krabbe Awareness in order to lessen the sting the disease can impose on future diagnosed children and families. Both Iowa and Illinois and 17 other states now screen all babies for Krabbe, and we are extremely grateful for our village of caretakers, family and friends that have remained loyal and adamant to making sure all families affected by Krabbe disease have the support they require. Our supporters persistently make sure our family has what is required to sustain the demands a child with medical complexities and of whom radiates pure awesomeness necessitates.
Without our support system, none of this would be possible.
If you are new to our page and know a child with medical complexities, we are here to help! Whether it be grants, navigating the Medicaid/insurance system, equipment questions, stem cell transplant inquiries, or just need someone to lean on, don't hesitate to message or email. 💜 We are just two parents that got thrown into this crazy complex medical journey over a decade ago with literally ZERO medical experience, and have turned pro out of pure love for our child. 💜
Learn more about Krabbe Disease, supplemental newborn screening (for those states not screening) and how you can help.⬇️
KrabbeConnect
Hunter's Hope Foundation
And as always, follow and like our posts to help circumnavigate Krabbe Awareness!
02/12/2026
One of the biggest issues we are having with William's communication is "making" him talk. Is it because his vision is struggling that day, or does he simply not want to talk? It's hard to express to people that sometimes he just doesn't want to or at that exact moment in time, he needs a different avenue for expression because his brain-to-body wiring are in disarray.
Let me be clear: he can. He just isn't going to. For whatever reason: too hard, too tired, too bright, math sucks, your breath stinks, you're mean, whatever....
How do we know he can? Because he shows off his mad communication skills for 6th grade girls. And when he wants to play computer games. And when he wants to watch one more basketball game before bed, and when he wants Monster Trucks instead of Teen Titans Go, and when he's at a social event and wants to meet new friends...
Yesterday, I had a therapist and a teacher tell me that they're having a hard time getting him motivated. They have goals they need to show progress, I get it. They are doing an excellent job trying all the tricks to get him motivated. We are very firm with him in doing what his trusted adults ask of him. "No sand-bagging.". Obeying his teachers and therapists isn't optional. If he has an issue, he needs to express that to his posse' (para, nurse, teacher, family.). Just simply choosing not to listen is disrespectful and not tolerated. Tell us WHY and WHAT we can do to help, and we move on from there to make it more comfortable. Our hope is that he knows we will never stop trying to make it better. He's also 11 and full of sass and is a typical adolescent young man (lots of eye rolls). He's human. And also has to work 100xs harder at what you and I take forgranted.
So a member of his team during class had a group of 6th grade girls come up to him and she educated them on his Tobii computer, how it works, how he can speak with it, and how they can speak to him and give him time to respond. They were super sweet and interested. Was he shy? Absolutely not. Never has been. He said what's up? How are you? I'm William. I think he even told them his phone number and address... 🤔 But my point is, HE CAN.
My lesson for you today: don't assume the non verbal, non mobile, non speaking people don't understand you. Involve them, challenge them, speak to them age - appropriate (quit the baby talk). A simple smile needs very little effort and is universal. Every single person on this beautiful bright wonderful earth has a story to tell.
It's our responsibility to adjust how we listen.
Inclusion matters. 🩵
01/31/2026
Absolutely beautiful Saturday! 🌞
12/10/2025
William's Christmas Wishlist! Some non covered medical stuff in there, too!
12/06/2025
Happy Saturday!
William had a big day yesterday in Iowa City and North Liberty. Good news! His bone health improved with the infusions he received over the summer! He braved the cold and a few noninvasive tests in order for his specialists to monitor how well his bone health is progressing with treatments at the University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital. The new Orthopedic Sports Medicine campus in North Liberty is absolutely amazing!
They are monitoring his liver and other bloodwork closely to see when he can continue with future infusions (they are typically every 6 months for a few years for full benefits). Liver abnormalities can be transient post infusions; for some, it can take longer for the liver to recover. It is also questionable whether liver function abnormalities are secondary to the infusions at all. Thankfully, we are not in a space where his liver is unhealthy. We know his liver responded and are waiting to see how well it rebounds over the next few months.
He has overcome 2 separate respiratory and stomach viruses over the past month! He has missed a lot of school, but we have also had a lot of time to catch up on reading, crafts and projects and rest. He has been so smiley lately, really engaged and so vocal. Kid has A LOT to talk about and some very strong opinions. 💙
We are so proud of William and his full recovery from those illnesses! Now to pray his liver enzymes bounce back soon so we can continue improving his bone strength.
If you have any questions about the infusions, what they are and how they are administered, please reach out! We share our story with the goal of helping others through their journeys!
William is sporting his cousins' brand VIP Sportswear in the picture below!
11/27/2025
Happy Thanksgiving! ❤️
11/21/2025
Borrowed from another page. Resonates with me deeply. Clip below is of my trip to Montana in August, because it's so beautiful not to share!
"Strength isn’t something I chose.
It’s something life demanded.
In the medically complex world, strength isn’t a badge we proudly picked out. It’s not a mindset we trained for or a trait we discovered along the way. It’s the survival mode we were thrown into the moment our child needed us to do the impossible.
Our journey didn’t ask if we were ready. It didn’t wait for us to gather ourselves. It didn’t check if our hearts could carry the weight of codes, crash carts, alarms, oxygen drops, seizures, obstructed airways, sleepless nights and decisions that no parent should ever have to make.
It just demanded we become strong.
And so we did.
Not because we were fearless — but because our child didn’t have another option.
Not because we wanted to — but because love pushed us past every breaking point.
Not because it was easy — but because walking away was never an option.
People see us standing, advocating, suctioning, troubleshooting, comforting, resuscitating, fighting… and they call us strong.
But the truth is:
We became strong while shaking.
We became strong while breaking.
We became strong because life forced our hearts into armour.
To every medically complex parent living this truth — I see you.
Your strength is forged, not chosen.
Your love is powerful, not fragile.
And your resilience is the purest form of courage there is.
We don’t want to be heroes.
We just want our children safe, stable, and breathing.
And so, every day, we rise. Because we must.
Sara's Journey"
11/20/2025
Our first Christmas ornament of the year! Thank you, Hunter's Hope Foundation, for the gift!
We have several trees ready to be planted this fall on our property, but we saved this little spruce to be used as our family Christmas tree this winter, then we'll plant her next year when she's a bit bigger. 🌲💙❤️
I designed this William's Way logo seen on this ornament for a fundraiser for Hunter's Hope. You can purchase hoodies, hats, all sorts of things, with his logo to support Krabbe Families. ❤️ Our WW Line is on the last pages of the LCN Family Collection by following this link ⤵️. I personally love the little tote bag! https://buh1wm-1c.myshopify.com/collections/lcn-family-collection?page=53
Have a Happy Thursday! 🍂 🍁 Love to all! -Abbey (William's mama)
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William was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy at the age of 5 months old. He underwent a stem cell transplant at the age of 7 months old and just recently celebrated his 4th birthday.
William developed normally. My undergraduate being in education, I was keyed into the milestones that he should be reaching by a certain time, and he was exceeding these norms. He was a big boy, somewhere around the 97th percentile at his 2 month appointment. Of course, we weren't surprised at his size given his family line; mommy being 5'9" and daddy being 6'4".
Robert and I moved across country when William was little. Once we moved to our final destination, William was about 3 months old. At that time, he started to change. We had an explanation for how he had become a picky eater and how his weight gain slowed down dramatically: stress from the travel, switching from breast milk to formula, and honestly everything made sense. I immediately took him into the pediatrician and we tried so many different types of formula, even at one point giving him a diagnosis of milk protein intolerance (not true, by the way.) The doctors said that he was such a big boy it wasn't too scary that he wasn't gaining weight as quickly, but of course I was not OK with any change in my boy's eating habits and weight gain. He stopped growing at about 14 lbs. His muscles and joints started to stiffen. I could still bend his arms and legs, but they were rigid. At that time, I went to another pediatrician and he thought it may be Cerebral Palsy. I was floored. I knew too much about the disease having a major in special education, and KNEW it didn't get worse over time. Cerebral Palsy is also a brain injury that happens before, during or after birth. Just doesn't make sense. So, I went to yet another pediatrician and he was AMAZING. He immediately referred us to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake for a neuro evaluation. They see hundreds of babies with CP, and she did not believe it was CP because he was "too bright".
This is a very long story with a lot of trips to Salt Lake, but William was eating just enough to not become dehydrated. However, soon after he turned 5 months old, he quit eating completely. I couldn't even get him to take Pedialyte anymore. My pediatrician fast-tracked us to Salt Lake where William was admitted. After several tests and an abnormal MRI, it was presumed he had a rare genetic disorder. It is a type of leukodystrophy called Krabbe Disease. We were told he would not live past his 2nd birthday. There is treatment for it, ONLY if it is caught BEFORE symptoms began. We were told there was no treatment available for William because he had already started to show signs. William will eventually die from not being able to breathe on his own. He will go deaf, blind and have seizures. Paint a picture of every parent's worst nightmare, and that was what we were given after our trip to Salt Lake. However, the blood test took 3 weeks to get the results, and in the meantime we were sent home on a NG feeding tube to get William his much needed nutrients. Ironically, all of his symptoms correlated with malnutrition, so we were really hoping that with some food his body and brain would heal itself. Well, it didn't although he was much happier!
Robert pleaded with our Salt Lake neurologist to find someone to do a blood cord transplant. He said that it was too late, but he would check around the country. He checked Duke, Minnesota and Salt Lake and they all said no, it was too late. We REFUSED to be told no. My best and wonderful friend Katie, who is a registered nurse, found a doctor in Pittsburgh that specialized in rare leukodystrophies including Krabbe, and gave me the website to check out. I called immediately. They said he is most likely a great candidate because his disease is progressing so slowly. A successful transplant will not cure my baby, nor will it help any deterioration that has already taken place. HOWEVER, it does stop the progression of the disease and will keep any skills that he has right now intact. They talked to me over the phone in depth, for a total of I think 3 hours. They got all history, his current abilities, and everything else you can think of. He wasn't just an "infant with Krabbe", he was William. He was unique and he is still able to do so many things! He just can't move very well, but he still coos at me, smiles at strangers, laughs, and gets irritated at me when I won't stop giving him kisses. He tries pushing me away...and I love it. Push me all you want, son. That isn't the first time you'll be irritated at me, nor the last!
We traveled Pittsburgh Monday, December 15, in hopes to get some promising answers for our little boy. After a week of several tests, he was considered a candidate for a transplant.
William engrafted on February 18, 2015, at the age of 8 months old. It took 18 days after the stem cells were transplanted for them to grow (engraftment). He is now 4, attends preschool, can count to 12, knows his colors, loves to read books, is speaking with an augmentative communication device and has very expressive eyes, can touch his hands to midline, smiles, coos, cries, and is getting stronger every day. Our biggest struggles include keeping his airway and lungs clear, and his muscles stretched. He is a very happy and loving little boy. We are very proud of him and everything he has accomplished.
Thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts.
