A CrossFit community reaches out when its members experience heartbreak.
CrossFit Spartanburg owner, Tal Young, rants and raves about two of his first gym members, Josh and Ashley Bradley. They walked through the door on opening day almost three-and-half years ago, and have been loyal clients ever since.
“I wasn't exceptionally good at scaling workouts and I think I almost killed them. Water under the bridge,” Young says. “Either way, they wound up staying and have been a huge part of CFS ever since. Ashley is the sweetest human being on the planet. Seriously, she could be a saint. And Josh would give you the shirt off his back and is just one of the best dudes you could ever meet. Awesome athletes, better people.”
The CrossFit Spartanburg family embraced the Bradleys when they announced they were expecting their first child. “The excitement in that gym when they announced their pregnancy was incredible,” Young says.
At their 20-week ultrasound, the Bradleys learned their baby had a serious birth defect.
“Basically she was born with half of a heart and a hole in the middle,” Josh says. “Because of this, she only has one common heart valve (normal is two valves), and after her first surgery at 7 days old, she developed a major leak in this valve. This defect is one of the more common defects in newborns but it is also very complex.”
But 5-month-old Kirby Bradley is doing well today, having gone through two major surgeries to treat her heart defect Atrioventricular Septal Defect Complete (AVSD or ASD) and a Hypoplastic Left Heart.
“There were more than a few tears shed when we found out that Kirby had some serious heart issues,” Young says. “We were right back on top of the world when Kirby showed up back in April. Everybody freaked the hell out waiting to hear how her first surgery went.”
The proud dad calls his CrossFit community amazing.
“The support has been unbelievable. We have been treated as family, which is how we all see ourselves at our box anyway,” Josh says.
Baby Kirby experienced some major complications from the beginning, including kidney failure and lung function, which caused her to be on life support for five days, and remain at MUSC Children’s Hospital in Charleston, S.C., 200 miles away. “Being the tough fighter she is, though, and with constant prayer from us all, she pulled through,” Josh says. “She has hit her targeted weight of 11 pounds and completed her second surgery on Sept. 5.”
The family hopes to be home by early October.
And despite spending most of their time at the children’s hospital, the Bradleys were never far from their CrossFit Spartanburg family.
Young says the members, “Smiled like kids at Christmas when we took a group down to Charleston and we got to see (Kirby). We've got some big ol' boys at CrossFit Spartanburg and got more than a few weird looks piling into the NICU in Charleston.”
Young says, during Kirby’s second surgery, “grown-ass men [were] group texting back and forth anxious to hear how our little girl is doing. Josh, Ashley, Kirby, CrossFit Spartanburg ... that's family.”
“She will have a normal life after her last surgery when she is 2 or 3 years old,” Josh says of his daughter. “The only affect this defect has on people is shortness of breath if worked up. Basically, she can’t run a marathon. But other than that, she will be able to do anything she wants. Maybe even CrossFit one day.”
The Bradleys say they are excited to get back home to Spartanburg with baby Kirby in tow.
“This whole process has been very trying for us and our families,” Josh says. “It’s been tough balancing our normal lives with this.”
But the parents were grateful to be able to spend so much time at the hospital. Josh owns an auto glass business and Ashley is a speech-language pathologist, so their jobs allowed for some flexibility.
The couple’s family visited the hospital each weekend. Josh would go home two to three days every week and work, but Ashley hasn’t left Kirby’s side but three times in five months.
“It’s been especially hard for her. She is so ready to come home,” Josh says.
Returning to Spartanburg also means going back to their home away from home at the box.
“CrossFit Spartanburg is not just our gym, it’s our family, it’s our home,” Josh says.
Before CrossFit, Josh says they were very inactive. “We were pretty much lazy couch potatoes ... But since joining, we have lost 30 and 20 pounds, respectively, and love to work out at our box. We feel the best we ever have.”
Through their CrossFit journey, the Bradleys gained a community. From raffles to baby showers, donations and a Fight Gone Bad competition at CrossFit Spartanburg – raising about $5,000 to help Kirby fight for her life -- the proud parents say they feel overwhelmed.
“Words can’t describe the gratitude and love we feel for our box and the awesome friends we have in it, not to mention support from other surrounding CrossFit athletes, as well,” Josh says. “Everybody has gone above and beyond the call to help us and visit us and just be supportive. Although we haven’t been working out much during these last five months, CrossFit has helped us cope by just having our friends around us and have a little bit of normalcy through the chaos.”
CrossFit Spartanburg’s community has a big heart, paying it forward when it comes to helping others in need.
“When the athletes and trainers at CrossFit Spartanburg decide to rally the troops for a cause, heads up, because we don't tend to do things all nice and quiet,” Young says. “This is a passionate group of athletes that will jump all over a good cause and a wide variety of causes at that. For example, we did a fundraiser when Kirby was first born to try and guess her weight and length. When we ran out of weights and lengths, our athletes still gave.”
The Bradleys have been on an epic journey. “We are Christians and firm believers in God and his word, so from the day we found out about Kirby’s heart, we decided to stand on the promise of his healing and knew that no matter what happens, he is with us and working all of it out for our good,” Josh says. “For today, ‘Carpe Diem’ is the motto we live by daily. It seems to have more meaning now more than ever.”
To follow Kirby’s journey, check out this blog: http://kirbyfaith.blogspot.com
To donate, email CrossFit Spartanburg: CrossFitSpartanburg@gmail.com
