Rickey Smiley is crediting his granddaughter, Storm, for helping him deal with the loss of his son, Brandon.

Speaking on the Tamron Hall Show, Smiley, a Birmingham native, comedian and popular radio host, said his son had been struggling with drugs since 11th grade.

Brandon had been “struggling for years, had been struggling probably since the 11th grade. It had gotten to a point where his mother and I — he has a wonderful mother and stepfather who lives in Atlanta — his mother really stuck with him,” Smiley said. “Even when I threw my hands up on those bad days, and said, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I’m tired.”

Smiley said the family made multiple attempts to get Brandon help, efforts that proved unsuccessful. Brandon, an aspiring comedian like his father, was buried in Alabama on Feb. 4. Smiley credits his granddaughter, Brandon’s 3-year-old daughter Storm, for helping him deal with the death.

“After the funeral, I was going to run home and change clothes to make it to the repast, and my granddaughter was there,” Smiley told Hall. “I said, ‘OK, see you tomorrow,’ and she was like, ‘No.’ That was the first time ever that she had separation issues with me because she usually just goes home.”

Smiley cheered her up by taking her to a playground.

“To have that day where I’m actually pushing her on a swing. I could hear the swing squeak; I can hear the birds chirping. The sun was setting, it was cool that day, and it was quiet,” he said. “At the end of the day where you just buried your son, which is her dad, to push her on a swing like that I just think it was God just giving me a sense of peace and comfort.”

Smiley has shared multiple images of Storm on social media, including some early videos of her with her dad and some of her worshiping with her grandfather at church.

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