UNION COUNTY, N.C. -- It’s been 10 weeks since the death of 16-year-old Brandon Elam, a Union County boy who lost a three-year battle with cancer.

With Christmas just two weeks away, his family is struggling to find holiday cheer.

“We're having a hard time dealing with (his death). Let alone trying to comprehend Christmas without him. So it's very, very tough,” said Anita Elam, Brandon’s mother.

Brandon's life and courage and sweet smile drew crowds around him even as his body withered, and his death did the same.

But now that the attention has lessened, Scott and Anita Elam are left to find their footing.

“We're always going to have our Brandon moments. I think back a lot. But he gives us a lot of precious memories. We had the chance to say goodbye,” said Scott Elam, Brandon’s father.

Saying goodbye, however, didn't stop Anita Elam from wondering about her son, from holding his pictures, from begging for a chance to see him just once more.

“I just want 10 minutes in heaven. I don’t even have to be with him in heaven. I just want to look in like a mother does to a child, and I want to look at him and I want to see what he looks like,” Anita said.

Brandon’s favorite “Panther’s Room” is largely as it was when Brandon spoke with Eyewitness News just days before he died. Not long after, his parents made him a promise – to keep his memory alive.

That promise keeps them moving forward, planning a foundation named after Brandon's slogan -- Elam-N-8 Cancer.

“We want to give back the same way it was given to us and do it in Brandon's name,” Anita said. “But we also want part of that to go towards research for cancer.”

Before any of that happens, the Elams will concentrate on another promise Brandon asked of them.

“Brandon, he told us that he wanted life to be normal, to take care of his sister Brooke,” Scott said.

And so as Christmas comes to the Elams, the house is one voice short. But the front porch offers hope and a prayer and a stairway to heaven.

On Thursday the Elams took part in a radio telethon for sick and injured children. Friends are also leaving personal messages at a special Christmas tree put up in Brandon's honor. It's at The Divide golf club on Stephens Mill Road in Matthews.