Westhampton Beach teen dies from infection

Henry and Dana Bramwell liked to think of their son Max as "the chosen one" -- the baby they picked 15 years ago at an orphanage in South Korea.

After trying for six years to conceive a child, the Bramwells adopted 4-month-old Max. But after he arrived at the family home in Westhampton Beach, Dana Bramwell suddenly got pregnant.

"We credited Max on that one," Henry Bramwell said.

Max soon had a baby brother, Jake. The two were as close as twins, sharing schools, activities and friends. Max played football, lacrosse and piano. He enjoyed taking apart machines to see how they worked and was looking forward to college, his father said.

Last week, Jake, Henry and Dana Bramwell were at Max Bramwell's bedside as doctors tried in vain to save him.

He died Thursday of a rare bacterial infection while undergoing chemotherapy to treat leukemia. He was 15.

The cancer diagnosis came less than four weeks before he died. The infection was another blow, surprising doctors at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

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"By the time they recognized it, it was too late," Henry Bramwell said. "It killed him in a matter of hours."

Max Bramwell had to leave school and give up his after-school job at McDonald's while undergoing treatment.

Friends and classmates at Westhampton Beach High School, where Max Bramwell was a sophomore, sold wristbands and held a car wash to raise money for him and his family. They bought him an iPad.

Following his death, students have talked of purchasing a memorial bench or tree, or asking the school to retire his locker, Henry Bramwell said.

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One classmate created a Facebook page in Max Bramwell's honor and uploaded a two-minute video to YouTube -- a montage of photographs. The students found out about his sudden death during an afternoon announcement Thursday.

"Max was a great kid who will be deeply missed," Westhampton Beach High principal Chris Herr said. "Our students and staff . . . are extremely saddened by the news."

Visitation will be held Sunday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Follett & Werner Funeral Home in Westhampton. Services will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Church of the Immaculate Conception in Westhampton Beach.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked donations be made in Max Bramwell's name to Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital.