Deion Branch is famous for catching Tom Brady's touchdown passes, a role that earned him Super Bowl MVP in 2005. But off the football field, Branch is raising awareness and funds to tackle meningitis in honor of his son.
Branch was 21 years old when his twin boys, Deiondre and Deiontey, were born in Louisville, Ky. Small but strong, the twins toughed out two weeks in intensive care before coming home from the hospital. But six days later, Deiondre would be back.
"He wasn't eating. And he'd cry when you picked him up," said Branch, recalling the new-parent panic that prompted a late-night trip to the emergency room.
A series of tests revealed Deiondre had meningitis, inflammation in the lining of his nervous system triggered by a viral infection.
"The disease was already taking over his body," said Branch. "The doctors gave him six months to live."
Pictured: Deion Branch with his twin sons.
(Photo by ABC News courtesy Sherlene Shanklin)
