“Brinley was born into this world a perfectly healthy 5 lb baby girl with a perfectly healthy heart. At age 2 she got croup and her mother advocated for a chest x ray to be done at the hospital where her mother works. They found cardiomegaly which is an enlarged heart. On June 13th 2024 the Wyczalek family had plans to go get ice cream after their cardiologist appointment and little did they know their lives would forever change. “Brinley had Dilated Cardiomyopathy and is in heart failure” the doctor said to them. She could have went into cardiac arrest at any time without them knowing their sweet babies heart was even sick. She was rushed downtown Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Cardiac ICU and immediately sent to surgery to get a PICC line placed and started on heart failure medications. That admission let us to discover our daughter Brinley had Myocarditis due to having Covid/RSV a year prior. The virus literally went to her perfect heart and attacked it. The myocarditis was unknown which ultimately led to her dilated cardiomyopathy and her heart failure.. all from a virus!!! Brinley was also found to have a certain gene called pkp2 which is the Arrythmogenic Cardiomyopathy gene that plays a lot with heart rhythms. Her father and mother ALSO are carriers of this gene and for the rest of their lives will be routinely seen by Cardiology.

Since then Brinley was able to transition to oral heart failure medications, go home and be home with her family and friends for almost a year and a half. She enjoyed cedar point with friends, dance parties, birthday parties and swimming in the pool all summer. You would honestly never look at her and know her heart was so was sick. Brinley has been under the amazing care of the Heart Failure/Function team at Cleveland Clinic Children’s outpatient as long as she could.

On October 31st 2025 they received a call no family should ever have to hear. The team felt given Brinleys diagnosis progression and worsening heart function it was no longer safe for our sweet baby girl to be home any longer without support. They admitted Brinley into the Pediatic Cardiac ICU again and started her on heavy medications to help her heart pump better throughout her little body. It was time to put Brinley on the heart transplant list due to her heart not responding to the medications anymore and not getting any better.

Brinley will be inpatient at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s for at least 18 months before a donor heart becomes available. She will go through what no child should have to- ever. Her family has endured pain, sadness, fear, anxiety, separation over the last week however they will not leave her. Her family will take turns rotating til stay with their baby girl until her perfect beating heart comes along. The Wyczalek family would never ask for donations- but the support you all have given them during this hard time is very humbling and they feel very blessed. While we feel we don’t understand why this is happening to Brinley- we still believe God is good all the time and can mend broken hearts.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…”

Thank you!