article: The family of a teenager who should have died after overdosing on a mix of heroin and Xanax has shared images of him in hospital in a bid to deter others from taking drugs. Brayden Travis, 18, was left without medical attention for seven hours after taking drugs at a friend's house in St Charles County, Missouri in early March. His lungs and kidneys failed, and he suffered a stroke and severe brain damage. Doctors warned that he will likely remain in a vegetative state, his mother, Kelly Smith-Miller, wrote on Facebook. She also shared a starling photograph of the teenager unconscious in a hospital bed with breathing apparatus and wires across his body. Overdose: Brayden Travis, 18, suffered a stroke and severe brain damage after overdosing on heroin and Xanax last month. His mother shared this photo of him to Facebook to deter others from taking drugs . 'If my son's story and picture can save one life or contribute to the education and awareness of drug abuse, then he and I are very happy!' she wrote in her post. 'He wouldn't want this for anyone else and he would tell anyone not to use drugs … ever! I can tell you he tried to fight this addiction and I pray this time it hasn't won!' The post has been shared more than 337,000 times. Brayden is now breathing on his own and wakes up and opens and closes his eyes, although his reactions are inconsistent, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported. 'Medical personnel believe my son should have been dead long before he was able to get the medical attention he needed, but for some unknown reason he has stabilized,' she wrote. Addiction: His mother explained that Brayden, left before the overdose, has struggled with drug addiction since he was 15. He is now conscious in hospital, seen right, and is breathing on his own . 'He is making progress, but we have a long road to travel. Even though the outcome is not expected to be positive, as a mother I will not give up until I have exhausted all options and know that I've done everything I can.' Brayden had long been battling with addiction, she said. He first started smoking marijuana when he was 15 and eventually moved on to heroin. He enrolled in five or six treatment programs and left three of them, she told the Post-Dispatch. He spent eight months in juvenile custody for using drugs and failing drug tests, she added. As he struggled with addiction, he moved between his grandmother's home and his mother's home, and at the time of his overdose, he was living with his father in St Charles County. By his side: Mother Kelly Smith-Miller, pictured with her son left, and his father, Todd Travis, right, said they hope he will pull though so he can 'come home and have a life that will be worth living' 'He was living with me doing well, then I go in his room every morning to check on him and he is gone,' his dad, Todd Travis, wrote on his own Facebook page. 'He is my only child, my mini me, and my life! Please everyone pray for Brayden to someday have his body and and his brain healed so he can come home and have a life that will be worth living.' Speaking to the Post-Dispatch, Travis, who tried to set a good example for his son by working out and eating well, added: 'You go over what you could have done better.' But he is still hopeful that his son will recover, and shared his joy on Facebook that his son has been laughing in hospital. 'I'm looking into his eyes, man - and he's looking at me,' he said.
highlights: Brayden Travis, from St Charles County, Missouri, has battled drug addiction since he was 15 and overdosed on heroin in early March .
  The 18-year-old was left without medical attention for seven hours and suffered a stroke and severe brain damage .
  Doctors told his parents he might be left in a vegetative state but he is now conscious and has made small improvements .
  His mother shared a photo of him in hospital in a bid to deter others from taking drugs; the post has been shared more than 337,000 times .
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