18-year-old Ben Breedlove died of a heart attack on Christmas day, just days after making a two-part video that has gone viral.
Rapper Kid Cudi responded to Breedlove’s death, saying he “broke down” after seeing the video, in which Breedlove describes seeing Cudi in a vision on December 6, as paramedics tried to resuscitate him after his heart stopped. In the vision, Breedlove says he felt “happy and peaceful” and “couldn’t stop smiling.”
The Austin, TX teen had a lifelong heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and explains in the video, through a series of cards that he holds up, how he cheated death three times.
His videos end with a card that reads “Do you believe in God and angels? I do.”
Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, posted on his Tumblr blog, ‘Cud Life‘:
“Iam to tears because I hate how life is so unfair. This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe, this is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really f***ed up sometimes, but I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad. We love you Ben. Forever. Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definately mine. You have my love.”
Breedlove’s family posted his obituary on December 29. It reads, in part:
“Through his brilliance with maneuvering the capabilities of YouTube, Ben has left a message for his generation. In the weeks prior to his death, he had faced some scary situations with his health, but had been given an amazing gift that he was determined to share; first with us, his family, and then, not surprisingly (and generously) with his YouTube audience.”
I don’t typically add personal comments to my posts, however, it is almost a year since losing my 17-year-old nephew, and this post was extremely difficult to tackle. Ben’s message has given me a sense of peace through the flood of tears I’m shedding as I write. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
You can read the entire obituary at the Austin American-Statesman, and you can watch Ben Breedlove’s YouTube videos below.
Kid Cudi photo: Ivan Nikolov/WENN
Ben Breedlove photo: obituary via Austin American-Statesman