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Alpha-1 mother writes a goodbye message to her son, killed by a drunk driver
This is a guest editorial in The Missoulian of Missoula, Montana, written by L. Virginia Beaver of Aberdeen, Washington. She was writing in memory of her son Brian, who was walking down a Missoula sidewalk with friends when he was killed by a driver now convicted of being intoxicated with alcohol and drugs at the time.
This is the first time I have been able to see enough through my tears to write anything concerning my son, Brian Gregory Beaver Jr. He was the pedestrian allegedly killed by Brian Holm, who is accused of driving drunk.
There is a huge, empty hole in my heart that will never heal.
Brian Beaver Sr. and I divorced when Brian was 11 and he worked in Alaska so the kids and I have always been very close.
First, I would thank all the kind and caring people of Missoula and the surrounding areas, and all of Montana. I was told our little flower memorial grew into a beautiful one for Brian. Then it rained, so this person couldn’t get a picture of it for us. You didn’t even know us; what wonderful people you are. Thank you with all of my heart and soul for being there for my son when I couldn’t.
I have Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency. This is a rare disease that is passed to the child from both parents and it makes the lungs attack themselves. I was on a waiting list for a little over five years for lungs. I was fortunate to receive lungs because I’m small and they have to fit; they can’t be cut down.
Brian slept in a bed in my room at the University of Washington for three days before they made him go home. They told him he had to go home, get cleaned up, eat and sleep because if he didn’t take care of himself, he wouldn’t be able to take care of his mother. He had tears in his eyes when he told me he had to go, but he would be back as soon as possible. His sisters, Teesha and Tawnya, took over so he could go home.
