Brandon Jenkins, who is also known as Red Dirt Legend because of his contributions to the genre, initially went to the hospital on February 2. The next day, he revealed to his fans that he would require “major heart surgery” to replace a heart valve, due to a genetic condition he just found out he had.
The hospital released him and scheduled him for surgery on February 20 at 8am. The procedure was only supposed to last four hours, but due to complications, he was in surgery for 14 hours. His mom, Wilma kept his family and friends updated via Facebook posts.
Although he was taken back into surgery on Feb. 22 and the doctors were able to stop the blood loss, but he still was “having blood pressure issues” even though the machine he was hooked up to was helping him a lot.
“His chest is still open and he is sedated,” Brandon’s mom wrote after his second surgery. “They remind us that he is extremely critical and are hoping for some kind of stabilization.”
The last update Brandon’s family gave was on Feb. 26, saying, “We will continue to allow him to rest and heal under sedation today and have a plan to go back in to surgery tomorrow to clean out his chest and further evaluate his progress. They will NOT be closing his chest yet, we will still face yet another surgery for that. As for now, please keep Brandon and his team of doctors and nurses in your thoughts and prayers!”
Throughout his hospital stay, doctors were hopeful for Brandon’s recovery although he remained in critical condition the entire time after his first surgery. On Friday (March 2) Brandon’s family shared a photo of the singer confirming he had passed away.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1692249037484691&set=a.230752600301016.54821.100000988332684&type=3&theater
Before surgery Brandon’s family designed t-shirts to sell to fans who would like to help with his medical costs. If you’d like to buy one, click here.
Country singers including Cody Jinks and Sundance Head have taken to social media to give their condolences.
https://www.facebook.com/sundanceheadofficial/photos/a.10153373883958970.1073741827.260629758969/10156268717003970/?type=3
https://www.facebook.com/CodyJinksMusic/posts/1631328486915043
Sad to hear of Brandon Jenkins @reddirtlegend passing! He was an incredible songwriter, musician, vocalist and a great guy. He was our friend and we will miss him.
— Eli Young Band (@EliYoungBand) March 2, 2018
Our thoughts and prayers are with Brandon’s family during this difficult time.