Ben Breedlove: Dying Teen Leaves Touching YouTube Video

A Texas teen with a life-threatening heart condition told his life’s story in a video posted on YouTube just days before his death.

Ben Breedlove, 18, died on Christmas day, but not before leaving one more video for his more than 60,000 followers on YouTube, according to KXAN News in Austin.

Breedlove had been using several YouTube channels to talk about the effects of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle becomes thick that makes it harder for blood to leave the heart.

Using notecards to tell his story, Ben talks about his condition and how it impacted his life without ever saying a word.

“The first time I cheated death was when I was 4,” one card explains. “I had a life-threatening seizure, scary right?

Breedlove describes his last near-death experience, which happened on December 6th. The Austin-area teen fainted at school and by the time paramedics arrived, he had no pulse and no respiration.

As first responders worked to bring him back, Breedlove reports experiencing a white room without walls where he was met by his favorite rapper, Kid Cudi.

“It was the best feeling,” the teen wrote, in the video posted on December 18. “I didn’t want to leave that place.”

Breedlove’s final video message, which is split into two videos, has been viewed by nearly a million people.

The 18-year-old signs off by saying, “Do you believe in Angels or God?”

“I do,” he wrote.

Following Ben’s death, rapper Kid Cudi – just one of the many who have been touched by Breedlove’s story – released an emotional statement through his Tumblr page which said:

“I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down, I am to tears because I hate how life is so unfair.

Cudi continued his post writing, “This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe,” responded Cudi at his site. “This is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really f—ed up sometimes, but I know Ben is at Peace, and I hope he gets a chance to sit and talk with my Dad. We love you Ben. Forever. Thank you for loving me. To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definitely mine. You have my love.”