Help Us Create Memories With Brianna

Hi, I’m Tianna, a daughter, a sister, a nurse, and most importantly, Bree’s big sister.

When I was just 18 years old, my mom gave birth to my little sister, Brianna. The day she was born, I got my second hospital band. I remember looking at my mom and saying, “She’s my baby too.”

Brianna was born at 23 weeks, weighing barely over a pound, “incompatible with life,” as the doctors told us. Because of her severe prematurity, every organ in her tiny body was underdeveloped. From her first breath, her life has been a fight, a daily battle against complications most people never live to see.

Knowing the road ahead would be long and hard, I looked at my mom and said, “It’s me and you until the wheels fall off.” I promised her she’d never face this journey alone and that’s a promise I’ve kept every single day since.

Bree was given zero chance to live, but she had other plans. She spent 1 year and 10 days in the hospital before we finally brought her home for the very first time. Every breath, every smile, every tiny milestone since has been a miracle.

To bring her home, I earned a $40,000 scholarship to become a Registered Nurse, not just as a career, but as a mission. I wanted to understand every tube, every medication, and every moment that determined her care. I went on to become an L&D and NICU nurse, standing beside families walking the same painful and beautiful road we’ve walked.

Later, I pursued and completed my Master’s in Medical Health Law with a concentration in Legal and Regulatory Compliance, using that education to fight for Bree’s rights, her access to care, and her dignity. Every battle with insurance, every hospital appeal, every difficult conversation, I fought it not just as her sister, but as her advocate.

Over her lifetime, Brianna has endured more than 40 surgeries, lived her entire life on a G-tube, and spent half of it with a trach to help her breathe. She has spent more time in hospital rooms than bedrooms, yet her light, humor, and love have filled every space she’s been in.

Now, after so many years of fighting, we’ve reached a point in her journey where we’ve chosen peace over procedures. Brianna is on hospice care, and as a family, we’ve decided to stop all aggressive treatments and surgeries. Our focus now is on her quality of life, love, comfort, and creating memories that last.

Our dream is to take Bree to Japan, a place she’s always been drawn to. She lights up when she sees cherry blossoms, soft music, and the calm beauty of Japanese culture. We want her to experience that peace, to feel the world’s beauty after a lifetime of fighting to stay in it.

Every dollar raised will go toward making that dream possible, giving Brianna moments of joy, comfort, and love surrounded by the people who have fought beside her all her life.

From the depths of my heart, thank you for helping us make her world as beautiful as she’s made ours.

With love and gratitude,

Tianna & Family