Tennessee community mourns Yousuf, prays for Asher after tornadoes

As prayers continued Tuesday for 10-year-old Asher Sullivan, injured May 8 during a series of violent storms that swept through Tennessee, another Murfreesboro area child, 11-year-old Yousuf Ayesh, died at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville.

Funeral services for Yousuf are planned for 5 p.m. on Tuesday (May 14) at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, family friend Ayat Abu said. A candle vigil "in loving memory of Yousuf Ayesh" is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Black Fox Elementary, where he was enrolled as a fifth-grader.

The boy died after living with incurable brain cancer the past six months.

"It’s hard on the family, but he’s in a good place and he’s not in pain," Abu said, adding that the Sullivan family also needs support. "It’s good to pray for both of them at the same time."

Both sets of parents, to Yousuf and Asher, the son of Rutherford County Schools Director James "Jimmy" Sullivan, have faced difficult decisions this week as their sons fought for their lives on the same floor of the hospital. Sullivan has shared regular updates on Asher's condition via Facebook. He posted a new one Tuesday morning.

"Asher had a pretty uneventful night for a change," he wrote on social media. "No new negatives but nothing improved."

Before then, the director had posted other, more dire updates, sharing that doctors didn't believe recovery was possible for Asher and that the boy was having trouble breathing on his own.

Abu's husband, Ahmad J. Abu-Halimah, said Tuesday that both families need prayer. He's a 19-year cardiologist and an associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He also serves as chairman of the board for the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

"It breaks my heart to have two kids at Vanderbilt children's hospital," said Abu-Halimah, who's also the 15-year medical director at the Vanderbilt Heart office in Murfreesboro.

"I don’t wish for anybody to go through this."

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Both Murfreesboro boys were on same floor at Vanderbilt hospital

Thousands of people in Tennessee and beyond found out about Asher after his father took to social media to ask for prayer and a miracle for his now hospitalized son. Asher got caught in a neighborhood storm drain on May 8 and was swept under the neighborhood streets.

But, before May 8, Rutherford County Central Magnet School students and parents also knew about Yousuf, a younger brother to one of Central's students.

Medical staff told Yousuf's parents Monday morning that their son was brain dead. A second test with the same result Tuesday meant his father, Hussam, and mother, Sana, had to decide whether to take their son off life support, Abu-Halimah said.

Asher's parents expected to have rough conversations Monday after hearing medical staff say their son would not survive his injuries. The boy, however, had slight movement in one pupil around noon, so doctors put everything on hold, Sullivan, the schools director, posted on social media. The director also asked the community to "keep the prayers coming."

Two days prior to the May 8 storm that led to Asher's injuries, Yousuf endured intense pain that required hospitalization, his family friends reported.

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Abu: 'I will never forget his smile'

Before last week, Yousuf and Asher were full of life.

Asher attends Christiana Elementary School and is known for being a Vanderbilt baseball fan.

Yousuf enjoyed being a fifth-grader at Murfreesboro's Black Fox Elementary, where his younger sister is also enrolled. Their older sister attends Central Magnet School in downtown Murfreesboro.

Abu, the wife of the Vanderbilt cardiologist, visited Yousuf in hospital every day when he was conscious, prior to this week.

"I will never forget his smile," Abu said. "He was happy. I love him. This breaks my heart."

She recalled Yousuf telling her, "I love you, Auntie," a nickname for Abu, who is not an actual aunt of the boy. She knows him through her volunteer work leading children's activities at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

Vanderbilt staff postponed the brain test on Yousuf Sunday, when a nurse said the procedure should not happen on Mother's Day, Dr. Abu-Halimah said.

"That touched my heart," said the doctor, who's raised four sons in Murfreesboro with his wife. The three youngest attend Central Magnet while the oldest, who also went to the school, will soon graduate as a pre-medical school student from the University of Chicago.

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Doctor: 'Both of them are our sons in this community'

Yousuf's family friend Abdou Kattih said the boy's parents have faced the same pain as Asher's mother and father.

"It's heart wrenching," said Kattih, the founder and president of Murfreesboro Muslim Youth, a group that provides volunteer support for people in need.

Kattih also said everyone should pray for medical decisions as well as well being and peace for both families.

Abu-Halimah said the prayers are needed to help the families "feel they are supported."

"Both of them are our sons in this community," the doctor said.

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Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Murfreesboro mourns, prays for boys injured in Tennessee tornadoes