It's hard because people say, How are you?

Or how really are you?

You know, and it's like, I think now we are the ones that hide it.

Like we're really not okay.

How do you measure the impact of a life... though short... which leaves an indelible mark on everyone it touched.

For those that knew him, Brady Hessbrook' light is what made him special.

That light always shining bright wheneve he had a football in his hands.

How did he fall in love with football?

Since he was a little tyke he had an old pair of shoulder pads and he had put that out and put a jersey on.

He'd go outside and he would toss the ball to himself and tackle himsel and throw himself on the ground and get up and celebrate And how do you tackle yourself?

I'm not sure how he did it, but I wish we had video of it, too, because there wa the most comical thing to watch.

And, you know, he really enjoyed it.

He learned at a very young age.

And of course, you know, was always around, film was always on.

And so he's a coach's kid.

Terry Hessbrook, Brady's father, is the former coach of the Ithaca High School football team.

During his 17 season run, he coached the Yellowjackets to five state championships, including seven championship appearances in eight seasons.

Through it all his son Brady was right there, starting off as a ball boy for the team, eventually playing for his dad as Ithaca's starting quarterback where he would become All-State and an Associated Press player of the Year.

Brady would commit to play collegiately at Wayne State University.

It was there where things would take a turn.

Were there any red flags?

Looking back, there were things that we missed.

I thought a messy closet, messy room was a normal teenage thing, but this was actually a sign that we were blind to.

He gave up some of the things that he loved to do.

We have a little fishing boat that we had purchased along the side of the road, and we fished a lot.

And I don't remember that that summer before he went back t to Wayne State as a sophomore.

I don't think we wer I don't think we went one time.

Brady battled back from a torn ACL during his sophomore year at Ithaca and hurt his shoulder the next season.

After redshirting his freshman year at Wayne State.

That same shoulder led hi to sit out his sophomore year.

Football was escaping Brady.

He had always, I think, identified as and everybody identified hi as whether it's right or wrong as he was Brad Hessbrook, the football player.

And he was no longer it didn't have football in his life anymore.

He began questioning his place on the team.

I remember telling Brady, I said, I think you're makin a big mistake, You know, about not being a part of football.

Go back and you know, and stay on scholarship and and film or do whatever until you get healthy.

You know, they'll they'll help you, you know, with with therapy and stuff for your shoulder and the treatment that you need.

And.

And he was adamant.

He's like, no, I want I want to be done right now.

I'm not healthy and I want to get healthy.

And he was adamant about that.

After spending th holiday season with his family, Brady was back on campus at Wayne State, taking classes and rehabbing his shoulder.

But on this Friday, Brady made the two hour drive from campus back to his parents house in Ithaca.

A bit unexpected, but maybe just homesick.

His mother, Kristy, saw Brady's car and called Terry.

She said Hey, Brady's car's in the garage and he didn't have a garage door opener.

So I thought that was unusual.

But I was like, Great.

He come home to surprise us and you call me back 2 minutes later and she said, You need to go home.

I was surprised to see his car in the garage, but I ran in the house and I was like, calling him.

And I ran downstairs because I thought maybe he was taking a nap.

The bathroom door was locked.

He busted it down immediately and we found him.

After that, it was a blur.

But it was the worst day of our lives.

I don't think.

I don't think we'll ever, ever be the same.

Obviously, we'll never be the same.

But I mean, my heart will be broken.

I don't think my heart will ever be whole again.

I just pray that sometime we see him again.

Brady Hessbrook was just 20 years old.

The day before Brady' death, Wayne State hired Tyrone Wheatley as the new football coach for the Warriors.

On the day of the funeral he loaded members of the Wayne State football team on a bus for the homegoing service, a total surprise for Kristy and Terry.

They had the team walk right in between the casket and Kristy and I, and, you know, they hugged us and shook our hands.

And almost everybody said something positive about our son.

But two players individually, I remember, stopped and they said, you know, they hugged us and they said we wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for your son.

Brady.

They were going through some very difficult times as freshmen and and Brad helped them through those times.

There are going to be parents who watch this.

Maybe they have a son o a daughter who are going through mental health challenges, maybe some who are going through the nightmar that you all are still living.

What do you want to say to those parents?

I don't want there to be shame attached to this.

It's like a disease of your brain.

And, you know, if we see somebody that needs help or treatment for a broken le or cancer, we don't judge them.

We want them to get help and we help them.

And I don't know that we're there yet with mental health.

I think that I think the stigma that's attached to it is is maybe what kept our son from coming forward.

You know, the shame and embarrassment, the stigma that's attached to poor mental health.

Kristy and Terr turned their grief into action.

They established the B# Foundation named after Brady's jersey number to bring mental health awareness and suicide prevention to the forefront.

The B#4 Foundation strives to prevent other families from feeling the same pain.

Terry has become the main spokesman for the foundation and remembers how nervou he was the first time he spoke about Brady's story in front of a large crowd.

The head football coach at Alma College extended the invite.

When he asked me, I was real tentative because I don't want 1.

I don't know if I'll make it through the presentation without breaking down, 2. do they really want to hear, you know, Brady's stor and you start questioning stuff?

Well, I went there's 187 footbal and I'm going to guess when I finished, 50 of them came down and gave me a hug.

You know, these are grown men.

And four of those people whispered in my ear and they said, Coach, I need help.

I need help right now.

I drove home that day.

I was like, you know, I talked to Brady little bit, like maybe they do.

You know, we need to do this, you know?

I mean, and that's when I firs realized that, that it's a lot bigger problem than than we knew.

And the B#4 foundation merch has become a rallying cry for so many.

You know hey, I'm wearing the B#4 at the Super Bowl, you know or I'm wearing the B#4 in Alaska, you know or I'm wearing the B#4 and I'm in the Dominican Republic.

Al I can't tell you not to just ramble, but the number of professional people that I work with across the state of Michigan that suffer from anxiety, depression and poor mental health.

So how do you measure the impact of a life like that of Brady's?

Perhaps you do that by looking at the strength he inspires in others to keep going.