Their caution was sadly necessary. In January 2024, just over 22 months after her celebrated cancer‑free status, scans revealed a devastating truth: the cancer had returned.
By then, Brie was old enough to understand more about her disease than most children her age should ever have to know.
When her parents explained to her that her cancer had returned, Brie asked with heartbreaking clarity, “But mom, cancer can kill people.”
The question pierced her mother’s heart, encapsulating the profound emotional burden Brie’s consciousness brought to an already painful reality.
Kendra later reflected that moment in an emotional update, acknowledging how she tried to reassure her daughter even as she struggled with her own fears.
“I wanted to crumble to the ground,” she wrote, but knew that young Brie was watching every reaction, gauging strength and vulnerability with deep, childlike intuition.
Moments of Joy Amid Struggle
Even in the midst of profound hardship, Brie’s life was filled with moments of light and celebration that reflected her courage and the love of her community.
One especially remarkable highlight came in August 2025, when pop star Ariana Grande sent Brie a personalized care package — a gesture that captured the heart of a truly special little fan.
In a video shared online, Brie beamed with happiness as she thanked Grande, emphasizing her excitement and gratitude.
Grande also posted a heartfelt video message, calling Brie “the most amazing, most inspiring little light beam in this universe” and sending her love and virtual hugs from afar.
Just a month later, in September 2025, Universal Pictures and NBCUniversal coordinated a private early screening of Wicked:
For Good for Brie and her family — an experience intended to be a highlight on her bucket list, shepherded by the support of fans, friends, and compassionate strangers.
Brie arrived at the event in a sparkling Glinda‑inspired dress, picking out treats for her siblings and settling into the screening with a Wicked‑themed popcorn bucket.
The event was both joyful and poignant, a testament to the depth of love and community surrounding her.
To many, these moments weren’t just celebrations — they were affirmations of Brie’s spirit, an energetic response to adversity that resonated with followers more deeply than any ordinary social media post ever could.
Faith, Family, and Heartbreak in Her Final Days
In October, her mother shared an update explaining that the little girl had been sleeping more, retaining water, and requiring oxygen support — stark signs that her body was weakening.
Kendra wrote openly about the crushing weight of each day, about her struggle to hope and fear simultaneously, and about the reality that every small moment with Brie felt both precious and precarious.
Not long after, the family celebrated an early Christmas together, decorating their home and exchanging gifts so that Brie could experience the joy of the holiday while she still could.
These tender family moments underscored the bittersweet truth that they were living what her mother described as their “last Christmas together.”
In a poignant reflection shared just a day before her passing, Kendra touched on yearning for wholeness — the idea of having all her children together in a single photograph — and the ache of realizing that moment would never fully come.
She spoke openly about grief, love, and the impossible balance of embracing beauty while grieving the horizon that was slipping away.
She wrote candidly that while Brie was never “suffering,” the family watched her condition decline day by day.
“I know, I know, she is a miracle!” Kendra said — a testament to the layered complexity of loving someone deeply while confronting the limits of hope.
