8-year-old cheerleader suddenly dies from brain bleed, parents say

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT/Gray News) – A family in Nebraska is living through the nightmare of suddenly losing their 8-year-old daughter.

Tracy and Amanda Bryan don’t know exactly what caused the death of their daughter Reese. She started having dizzy spells and complained she just didn’t feel right in January.

They eventually learned that she’d suffered a brain bleed.

They’re unsure what started Reese’s tragic journey and question if it started at cheer practice, where she reportedly collapsed.

“We don’t know anything about that. One, we haven’t been told anything. Certain things haven’t been released,” her parents said.

Tracy and Amanda Bryan are just trying to get a hold of the reality that’s in front of them.

“It’s just a nightmare I can’t wake up from. Every day I come home, I think she’s going to be here,” they said.

The Christmas tree in the Bryan home is still standing, all dressed up. Reese wanted to keep the tree up and change the decorations to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Easter, but she never got the chance to do that.

Dealing with the unexpected loss of their child is almost too much to handle, and trying to figure out the expense of the tragedy adds more to an already-full plate.

Reese’s dad said life insurance is something he never thought they needed to consider.

“I remember coming across that section about life insurance for your children and I still didn’t do it because you just don’t expect something like that to happen,” Tracy Bryan said.

“You don’t ever think to do that,” Amanda Bryan said. “We talked about that at the mortuary the other day, too. It’s not something you ever think of, but it definitely changes the way you look at everything.”

The Bryan family have friends who are working to help them financially as they wade through the tragedy, while the family mourns and fights to get a grip on losing their little girl.

Friends of the Bryan family have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the unexpected expenses of losing Reese.