Brennan Mize Needs Our Help!

Anthony Mize is an amazing teacher at Our Community School who passionately cares for the students in his classroom as well as for all members in the community. Tragedy has hit his family and I ask you to read his story below and consider donating to help them if you are able to.

On April 4, my wife Brennan was in the kitchen making an afterschool snack for two of our daughters. All of a sudden, she complained of a severe headache, tunnel vision, had trouble standing, and asked to be rushed to a local hospital. By the time she arrived at the hospital, she could not stand, see, or speak clearly. She immediately underwent a life saving procedure to coil a ruptured brain aneurysm and has since been in the ICU under the care of incredible doctors, nurses, and staff. Over the course of the last three weeks in the ICU, Brennan has shown the tenacity, fight, will, and determination to survive that those who know her- know she is famous for.

Brennan’s road in ICU has not been easy. She has had some of the most severe brain spasms the medical team has ever seen. This has caused challenges such as an extended period on a ventilator, another procedure to coil a second enlarged aneurysm that was yet to rupture, and many lengthy procedures to open her blood vessels and apply medication directly to the spasms. Her medical team has gone to great lengths to preserve her neurological and cognitive function, while providing the best opportunity for recovery.

She is able to perform slight tasks with the right side of her limbs, but is still heavily sedated and essentially has no mobility on the left side for now. The hope is that this is restored through rehabilitation. She does grasp what is happening, is aware, and does transmit love through her right hand. We’ve had some of the most tender moments in our 19 year marriage and 23 years together in the ICU.

Brennan is love personified. This is reflected in her work as a high school special education teacher for students with severe needs, specializing in a program for students with Autism. At home, she is the culinary Queen of the kitchen and the castle. She has an incredible skill of taking a few simple ingredients and turning them into something magical, while also seemingly using every dish in the house.

Brennan embraces the loud moments of life and hasn’t ever met a party she didn’t enjoy. She also cherishes the quiet solitude of the simple things- the sand between her toes at the beach, watching cooking shows with our daughters before bed, sharing an inside joke that's grown over time. She’s not afraid to sing in the grocery store or meet the eyes of those often unseen. Fiercely loving and deeply passionate- she is a dear friend to many, a foundational rock of our family, the most amazing mother to our three daughters, a doting Gigi to our ten-month-old grandson, and a better wife than one could ask for.

Our family has been in the eye of the storm. We’ve been anchored by the support and collective channeled energy provided by everyone that has sent a prayer, positive thought, and message of love into the universe. We feel the echo of it all. After reading a recent result of her daily brain ultrasound the neurologist said, “It looks like the storm is over”. With the subsiding storm comes opportunity for life to flourish and the long road of recovery to begin.

I’ve taken a leave from my job as a middle school teacher to support and oversee Brennan while in the ICU and during her subsequent stages of recovery. It has been transformative and a privilege of a lifetime to support and love her as she went on this journey. There have been an array of moments from visceral fear to the most human of life’s exchanges with doctors, nurses, loved ones, and Brennan. Once out of the ICU and other potential areas of the hospital, Brennan will spend an extensive period of time in an acute rehabilitation facility where she can have direct support to restore and regain her physical mobility. She will then return home for continued recovery and therapy. The neurologist is requiring that Brennan not resume work until at least January 1, 2024. She will have the necessary time to take the physical, emotional, spiritual, and reflective steps necessary to reclaim her life.

Throughout all of the hardships endured in this process, the notion that love unifies and endures is a momentous force that propels healing. We have been incredibly moved by the outpouring of love for Brennan and our family. We thank you for taking the time to share in our story and appreciate everyone’s love and generosity. Wishing you and those you love all the best. - Anthony Mize on behalf of Brennan and The Mize Family