Seven Generations grad kept brother in mind throughout studies

As Rachel Fox, 25, drove home to Sioux Lookout after her first day of college last fall, she knew she would be losing her younger brother Brandon.
It was Aug. 29 and Rachel, a member of Bearskin Lake First Nation, had attended orientation at the Seven Generations Educational Institute’s culinary skills chef program in Fort Frances that day.
Brandon had already been in the hospital for about two weeks, and that morning, Rachel was told his condition was getting better.
But as the day went on, she learned his condition had worsened.
“That’s what (my) mom said, that we have to decide now if we want to resuscitate him,” Rachel said, her eyes welling up at the memory. “And we were already on the same page that we weren’t going to do it.”
Brandon, 19, was stricken with pneumonia. Antibiotics did little to help him recover.
Knowing his condition was worsening, Rachel returned home after her first day of college to be with her family.
Brandon had fallen gravely ill more than two years before and after weeks of concern, he recovered.
It would be different this time.
With Brandon’s lungs full of fluid, doctors informed the family that they had two choices: attempt to revive him, or do nothing.
“His lungs were already too damaged and the healing process would’ve been too much,” Rachel said.
Brandon Fox-Keesic was not your average 19-year-old.
Born in 1993, Brandon was the second child of his mother, Adrienne, and the first of his father, Glen.
When Brandon was a few months old, Adrienne realized he was more “floppy” than most babies at that age.
When he was two, Brandon was diagnosed with neuronal migration disorder, a condition that left him unable to sit, walk, or speak. Rachel said to take care of her brother, even as he entered adulthood, was to take care of a baby.
He had to be fed, bathed, and groomed, and his diaper had to be changed. He could not communicate with the world using words. Instead, he moaned and made other vocal sounds.
Yet the Fox and Keesic clan made him a regular part of the family. He took part in family meals and outings. They talked to him and joked with him.
“I could always make him laugh. I remember that,” Rachel recalls fondly.
Rachel would help with Brandon’s physiotherapy and ensure his hair was cut and at times she would style it.
“Sometimes he did his own hair,” Rachel said with a laugh.
Over the years, Rachel developed a special bond with her little brother.
“You know how you’re not supposed to pick favourites,” she said. “But how could you not.”
When not tending to and bonding with her brother, Rachel developed hobbies such as graphic design and photography. She first went to college to study photojournalism but dropped out when she felt the lessons were redundant - she already knew most of it.
She also developed a passion for cooking and baking. She ran a small baking business out of her home. But her decision to take the two-semester culinary program came on a whim.
“This one cropped up on me one day when (a friend) messaged me and sent me a link to the program, so I kind of just threw in my application,” she said. “I don’t know why, I just did.”
Rachel had qualms about leaving home to attend college, but she figured it would only be one school year.
This was before Brandon fell ill.
After returning home to be with her brother and family, Rachel spent most of her waking hours at the hospital. Those days were a fog, she says.
“But I remember he was really scared,” she said.
After his family decided not to prolong his suffering, they held a ceremony by his hospital bed to help him on his new journey.
On Sept. 2 – four days after the family made its decision – Brandon gave his last breath.
Along with his parents and older sister, Brandon left behind his younger brother Logan and baby sister Tehya.
Rachel left Sioux Lookout the following day. She attended her first classes on Sept. 4.
“It was really hard,” she said of her first week of school. “I don’t really remember (how), I just know I got through it.”
The family scheduled Brandon’s funeral on Saturday, Sept. 8, so Rachel could attend without missing classes.
Rachel had taken counseling in Sioux Lookout and, after she returned to school, scheduled appointments in Fort Frances to continue it.
“It really helped a lot,” she said.
Rachel persevered with her studies during the school year, but it was not without its challenges. She said Mondays were the hardest.
“During the weekends, there wouldn’t be much to focus on, so I’d feel extra sad on Mondays.”
If there was one thing that kept Rachel going, it was her promise to Brandon that she would continue her schooling.
“I don’t like to break promises,” she said.
When her computer hard-drive crashed as she was working on the third draft of a midterm essay, Rachel accepted a D-grade on that assignment and continued her studies - even if it meant failing that course. But she did not.
Ten months after Brandon’s passing, Rachel received her culinary skills chef certificate during Seven Generation’s graduation ceremony on June 13. She finished with a GPA of 3.6.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” she said that evening. “I know the last day of school, I was in shock it was the last day and that I made it through.”
Although Rachel was too preoccupied with her studies to plan for after she graduated, she soon found a job at a Sioux Lookout restaurant. The position is seasonal, but Rachel is working on alternate plans.
“I know I want to work in a bakery for a bit and probably work on getting my Red Seal,” she said.
This September, the Fox and Keesic family is planning to hold a feast in honour of Brandon.
After all her struggles, Rachel is unsure how Brandon would feel about her graduation.
“He’ll probably be happy with the food at his feast this year,” she said with a laugh.