#ripkreed

[A white teenager wearing sunglasses and a red t-shirt smiles at the camera. He has adorable dimples.]

Kreed was 18 when he passed in 2016 away from a rare genetic condition ( megaloblastic anemia). He was an autistic young man with many support needs, who communicated via AAC and was okay with his mom sharing details about his life with the world.

Kreed loved eating at Five Guys. This dude had style, wasn’t afraid to express himself and very little could stop him from rocking out when the music got good. He had a taste for adventure and tried to go on one whenever he had the chance.

A part of me believes Kreed’s death is partially due to negligence by medical personnel. The way I understand it (which may be wrong) is his behavior issues worsened as his health declined, and doctors tried to attribute this to his autism rather than discomforts related to his health. 

Kreed’s mom, Erin, kept pushing that the way he acted wasn’t his usual and something was wrong. The last months of his life were spent in and out of the hospital without answers.

Kreed deserved so much better. All autistic people deserve so much better.

Kreed’s life was not a tragedy. His death is! Neurotypicals and allistics, do not disrespect his memory by saying death is better for him or that his mom had to be so relieved after he was gone.

Erin was and still is devastated by Kreed’s loss. I will always be grateful to her and Kreed for allowing us a glimpse into Kreed’s World.

He was a young autistic man who communicated via AAC and needed a lot of support. He loved being alive. His life wasn’t a tragedy...his death is. I still feel like the medical system failed him and his mom.

He was a smart and funny dude, and the world misses him.

Some anon (I won’t publish something so disgusting) said Erin, who is Kreed’s mom from Kreed’s World, must be relieved that she doesn’t have “that burden” anymore and he should be forgotten about ASAP.

To that anon, I say HELL NO. 

Now I plan to really make sure nobody forgets Kreed! I’m gonna dedicate today’s choir performance to him. His mom wants people to wear orange today in memory of him. I don’t have anything orange to wear, so the video will get a special orange coloration instead of the usual purple for that particular song.

Kreed being a nonverbal autistic man was not tragic. The tragedy was his body failed him and he died at 19 years old due to what may be an extremely rare genetic condition. (His mom won’t know till the tests come back.) 

Kreed’s mom is devastated over his loss. Her days were filled with loving and taking care of him, and now all that time is going to be empty. Her house is silent, no longer filled with Kreed’s growling and screeching and “mama mama” noises. She will look outside at the swings and he won’t be swinging on them. She will walk into a store and he won’t go hopping down the aisles like he’s got springs in his feet.