In early August, Justin and Mickaila received news no parents are ever prepared to hear: the precious baby girl they were expecting, Briana, had a heart defect.
From that moment forward, they chose to trust God, pray for their daughter’s healing, and do everything they possibly could to fight for her life. They were blessed with a wonderful, like-minded doctor and an incredible team at Texas Children’s Hospital, North Austin, who supported them throughout their journey and shared their desire to give Briana every possible chance at life. The plan was to perform heart surgery immediately following her birth.
Family and friends joined them in praying, hoping, and believing alongside them.
Then, last week, they received more difficult news. Fluid was beginning to fill Briana’s lungs. At the same time, Mickaila had spent much of September very sick with what she believed was a terrible cold. She was extremely short of breath and had difficulty even talking without becoming winded.
As the doctors considered whether they could drain the fluid from Briana’s lungs, the doctor who had walked so closely beside Justin and Mickaila—and shared their deep desire to preserve Briana’s life—realized something was terribly wrong with Mickaila as well.
She wasn’t suffering from a cold. She had developed a rare and extremely serious condition called Mirror Syndrome, in which a mother’s body begins to mirror what is happening in her baby’s body. As Briana’s little body struggled with fluid, Mickaila’s body was beginning to experience the effects as well, and she was becoming dangerously ill.
Suddenly, they were fighting for two lives.
The doctors determined that the best chance to save Mickaila—and the only remaining chance to give Briana an opportunity to fight for her own life—was to deliver her.
It was devastating. Justin and Mickaila had desperately hoped to give Briana more time to grow safely inside her mom. At just 19 weeks gestation, they knew how incredibly fragile she would be. But even in the heartbreak and uncertainty, they continued to pray for a miracle.
Because Mirror Syndrome had become so dangerous for Mickaila, doctors first had to stabilize her enough to undergo a C-section.
On September 27th at 4:58 PM, Baby Briana entered this world.
For 19 precious minutes, she was here.
When Mickaila touched her beautiful, tiny fingers, Briana reached for her mommy.
At 5:17 PM, Briana passed away, covered in her daddy’s tears as he held his tiny daughter and spoke words of love over her.
Briana’s life was heartbreakingly short, but it was never without purpose, and she was never without love. Before she ever entered this world, she had a mom and dad fighting for her, a family loving her, doctors advocating for her, and so many people praying for her.
Justin and Mickaila are now facing the unimaginable grief of losing their daughter while Mickaila continues to physically recover from a life-threatening pregnancy and emergency delivery.
We are creating this GiveSendGo page to surround them in a tangible way during the difficult days ahead. Donations will help ease the financial burden of medical expenses, time away from work, Mickaila’s recovery, funeral and memorial expenses, and the many unexpected costs that accompany a tragedy like this.
More than anything, we want Justin and Mickaila to have the space they need to grieve, heal, and simply be together with their family without the added weight of financial worry.
If you are able to give, thank you for helping carry a small piece of this burden for them. If you are unable to give, please consider sharing Briana’s story—not only to support this young family, but also to help bring awareness to Mirror Syndrome, a rare and incredibly dangerous condition that so many have never heard of.
Above all, please continue to pray for Mickaila’s healing, for Justin and Mickaila as they walk through this unimaginable loss with their three daughters, and for their entire family in the days ahead.
Baby Brianna was here for 19 minutes, but she was loved for every moment of her life—and she will be loved and remembered for a lifetime.
