PITTSBURGH, Pa. (EYT) – The staff at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh helped the family and friends of an injured local lineman make his 30th birthday a memorable one.
Branden Bauer, a local lineman who was severely electrocuted last month, turned 30 on Wednesday, February 3, while still a patient at UPMC Mercy. Branden has undergone multiple surgeries since his injury on Friday, January 8, 2021, including one that took place the day prior to his birthday.
However, despite the ongoing pandemic restrictions, his family and friends wanted to make sure he still got to celebrate his 30th birthday, and the staff at UPMC Mercy did their best to help make that happen.
Many of Branden’s family and friends made the trip to Pittsburgh on Wednesday to surprise him outside of one of the hospital windows. The group also incorporated several linemen, including his crew that was on scene with him the day of the accident.
However, the special visit was just the beginning.
Branden’s family recently asked the local community to come together in sending e-birthday cards to Branden at the hospital to help brighten his birthday, and the community came through.
“The amount of e-cards that Branden received was out of this world, and we are pretty sure they took at least one ream of paper (if not more) to print!” his family shared on the Praying for Branden‘s Facebook page.
That was still only part of the surprise, though.
While Branden was visiting at the window, the staff of the ICU at UPMC Mercy was hard at work. They coordinated with his wife, Katelyn, to decorate his room, set out food that included his birthday favorites of pizza, wings, and ice cream cake, and even put on their “Brave like Branden” shirts to surprise him when he returned to the unit.
The staff then decided to take the surprise one step further and also hosted a surprise baby shower for Branden and Katelyn, complete with presents and cupcakes.
“While we should not be surprised at this point when it comes to the compassion that is shown by the staff at UPMC Mercy, they truly took it to a new level today. It gives us so much comfort knowing that even though we, as his biological family, cannot physically be with him, he is surrounded by a new group of caring individuals that have become family,” another message on the Praying for Branden‘s Facebook page stated.
