Two years later, and Brackbill’s book, “Even So, Joy: Our Story Through Heartbreak, Hope and Triumph,” is now available online and at Guardian Angel Bookstore in Richfield. Brackbill will speak at a luncheon at noon, Saturday, June 23, at the bookstore on Main Street in Richfield. Cost is $12 for the luncheon or $25 for luncheon and a copy of the book. Attendees are required to RSVP by today at (717) 694-3901.

Brackbill is the wife of 1995

Juniata High School graduate Brennan Brackbill, whom she said is “related to all of Juniata County.”

The couple’s first child, Tori was five months old in February, 2015, when she was diagnosed with the nervous system disorder known as Krabbe. Motor skills are heavily impacted by the disease. Most cases show signs at age five months, like Tori’s case. And when diagnosed at this age, it is terminal.

Photo submitted

Tori passed away in March, 2016 at 20 months old.

Krabbe, however, can be diagnosed at birth and treatment can begin so infants can continue to live a full life. However, Pennsylvania is one of many states that require such testing at birth.

Brackbill shares the emotional journey in her book, just as she had in a blog she regularly updated during those critical months. The book, she said, like the blog, has the purpose of sharing how the couple made the decision not to allow the terminal diagnosis steal their joy.

“When Tori was still here, an editor asked if I wanted to do a book. I said no,” Brackbill said.

Later the concept of the book was an afterthought. Brackbill decided to write the family’s story for the sake of their additional children.

Brackbill delivered twin boys this spring. The boys were tested for Krabbe during pregnancy and at birth with negative results.

The book, published through Westbow Press in January, can be found online at Amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles’ website.

Connections to Juniata County remain an important part of the Brackbills’ journey.

The couple resides in the Harrisburg area, but the situation with Tori kept them linked to family and friends in Juniata County, who supported the Brackbills in many ways.

Brennan Brackbill has remained friends with Pastor Jeremy Kerstetter of Thompsontown. Kerstetter recommended Brackbill make the book known to the local community by contacting Guardian Angel Bookstore.

Lesa Brackbill said she wants her talk on June 23 to “help anyone who is going through anything hard.”

Putting the story into a book was therapeutic for Lesa.

“Writing this book helped me sit and process what I thought I had already processed,” Lesa said of the six month period it took to put her story into print.

The blog continues: https://thebrackbills.com/