Memorial Fund for the Family of Bryce Brooks

Hello.  My name is Kayla Thomas.  I met Tahira in Springfield, IL when she dropped in to take a fitness class with me.  I remember her telling me that she heard the music, and had to come in!  That was the beginning of a friendship that's lead to a sisterhood in our WERQ Fitness community that I am so happy T chose to become a part of.  I've started this Go Fund Me to help TT with new expenses of having to secure and pay for childcare and unexpected costs moving forward as she navigates the new normal she is facing after the loss of her husband, Bryce Terell Brooks. 



On March 20, the day before Illinois instated it's shelter-in-place order for the recent global pandemic, Bryce had what he believed to be an asthma attack. An asthmatic, Bryce knew the usual steps to take to treat an attack, but after a second treatment did not work to relieve his shortness of breath and tightness in his chest, he told his wife Tahira (TT) he needed to go get more help.

Assuming he would receive a Prednisone treatment to open his airway and alleviate the pressure, Bryce and TT set out for help. During the drive, Bryce stopped breathing. TT pulled over, called 911, and began to administer CPR to her husband, but tragically Bryce could not be revived, and passed away that day.  TT later learned that the tightness in his chest and shortness of breath had not actually been an asthma attack, and that Bryce had suffered an aortic dissection.



Bryce was a supportive husband and loving father. He was a kind person who was always willing to help those in need, and was fiercely protective of his family. Just this past December, Bryce and TT purchased their first family home together. The day he passed, Bryce lied next to TT and told her, "If something happens to me, I always loved you." He enjoyed spending his free time with his family lifting weights at the gym, and doting on his children. Bryce leaves behind TT and their children, Bryce (11), Brycen (7), Bryciona (4), and son Tremell (15), along with parents, siblings, and many aunts, uncles and cousins to cherish his memories.

Your contribution.

Bryce and TT had a schedule worked out where they depended on each other to be the caretakers for their children while the other went to work. Bryce worked daytime shifts, while TT worked as a WERQ Dance Fitness instructor during their family gym time at both Fit Club and the Springfield YMCA, and on night shifts in the ER at Memorial Medical Center where she has been employed for the past 20 years.

TT is now facing the unimaginable loss of her husband while having to figure out how to juggle childcare for her children to be able to continue to work and provide for her family, all while the world is already in unfamiliar territory with a global pandemic upon us-- her job in the epicenter of it all. These are trying times for everyone, but if you are able, please consider donating to help alleviate the immediate stress TT faces in finding and paying for childcare, and any other expenses she may not foresee coming for her children while she finds her way through this trying time.

Help spread the word.

I want to tell Bryce's story in the hopes that others - friends and strangers alike - may help and send thoughts or pray for TT and her children while they adjust to life without a loving spouse and devoted father. Whether or not you contribute financially, I ask that you consider supporting TT by sharing the link to this page. I would love for TT and her children to have a constant reminder of how proud Bryce was to be a part of their lives, and to see that others are standing alongside her as she weathers this storm.