Brooklyn's Story

Brooklyn Rose Medina was born on August 26, 2020 — a whole month early and sharing the same birthday as her Grandpa Marty. From the very beginning, she felt like pure perfection. As first-time parents, Darline and Anthony couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful, easygoing baby girl.

She slept through the night, stayed happily awake during the day, and filled their home with her babbles and soft coos, as if she already had so much to say. They watched her every move, completely wrapped around her tiny finger.

As she grew, her curiosity blossomed. She wanted to understand everything and wasn’t shy about sharing her thoughts. She loved being outdoors and feeling the cool air on her face. While she played outside year-round, fall was always her favorite season.

Brooklyn had a special connection with nature. She could name the bugs in their backyard and explain the journey of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. She recognized birds just by their songs — the cardinal, the mourning dove, even the bald eagle that would pass overhead in the early mornings and evenings. She loved watching Animal Planet, fascinated by the veterinarians helping animals heal.

More than anything, she was loving — the sweetest soul to everyone she met. She had a gentle way about her that made people feel instantly connected, instantly cared for.

She was everything a child should be — joyful, sassy, brave, artistic, and full of wonder. She loved music, animals, and being outdoors with her family. She danced without hesitation, laughed without reserve, and loved with her whole heart. In just two short years, Brooklyn taught us how to live fully in the moment — a lesson that would soon become the very foundation of our lives.

Brooklyn was only two years old when their world changed forever.

The first sign that something was wrong came quietly. Brooklyn began having abnormal movements in her left eye. Concerned, Darline scheduled an appointment with an eye doctor that same week. During the exam, the doctor confirmed that Brooklyn’s vision itself was fine. But something didn’t feel right. She asked to see Brooklyn walk. That moment changed everything — Brooklyn began to show balance issues. The doctor immediately ordered a stat MRI at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando.

Hours later, we heard the words no parent is ever prepared for:
“Your child has DIPG.”

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. A rare and aggressive pediatric brain tumor. A diagnosis with no cure. A diagnosis that steals time.

In the days that followed, Brooklyn’s parents were thrown into a world they never knew existed — medical terminology, clinical trials, treatment protocols, and heartbreaking statistics. Because of Brooklyn’s young age, her options were extremely limited. Every decision carried weight. Every moment felt urgent.

In May of 2023, Brooklyn began treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Her parents left everything behind in Florida — jobs, home, routines — packing only what mattered most and following their daughter across state lines. For the next 100 days, Memphis became home. The Ronald McDonald House became a refuge. Hospital rooms became daily reality.

Those months were filled with treatments, procedures, scans, and sleepless nights — but also with small victories, laughter in hospital hallways, music playing in her room, art projects on bedside tables, and precious moments together that we clung to with everything we had.

After arriving in Memphis, Brooklyn underwent a biopsy at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital — another step no two-year-old should ever have to endure. Despite the weight of each new procedure and appointment, her parents were determined to protect her childhood in every way they could.
As the weeks went on, they did their best to make life feel as normal as possible. There were moments of laughter mixed into hospital days, music playing in the background, art projects wherever they could fit, and time spent outside whenever Brooklyn felt strong enough. Even in the hardest season of her life, Brooklyn remained who she always was — joyful, sassy, brave, and full of light.

Before returning home to Florida, Brooklyn began experiencing increased pressure from swelling in her brain and required the placement of a VP shunt to help relieve it. Another surgery. Another hurdle. Another reminder of how fragile time had become.

In July of 2023, Brooklyn and her parents returned home to Florida. While being back offered comfort and familiarity, life was far from normal. Their new reality included constant vigilance, medications, therapies, and the emotional toll of living scan to scan. Each month, they traveled back to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for routine follow-ups and MRIs — hoping for stability, praying for more time.

On December 28th, following one of those routine scans, everything changed again.

They were told that Brooklyn’s tumor had grown significantly.

The growth disqualified her from the clinical trial she had been enrolled in — closing a door they had been desperately holding onto. Once again, the ground shifted beneath their feet. The path forward became even more uncertain, and the weight of what lay ahead felt unbearable.

And yet, Brooklyn kept showing up. She kept loving. She kept being Brooklyn.

After learning that the tumor had grown and the clinical trial was no longer an option, her parents scrambled to determine what the next step could be. What was already an incredibly limited set of treatment options became even narrower.

In order to be eligible for other potential therapies, Brooklyn would have been required to undergo a washout period — time for the previous drug to fully leave her system before starting another. That process could take weeks.

Weeks Brooklyn simply did not have.

She was also disqualified from additional clinical trials due to having undergone multiple brain surgeries — a cruel paradox faced by many families: the very procedures required to give a child a chance can later close doors to future options.

Eventually, Brooklyn was accepted into the ONC201 trial under compassionate use. For a brief moment, there was hope. But by then, her condition had already begun to deteriorate rapidly.

As her strength faded, her parents were faced with the most devastating decision of their lives. The day before Brooklyn was scheduled to begin radiation, they chose to forgo further aggressive treatment. The focus shifted from fighting for more time to protecting the time she had left — ensuring she was comfortable, surrounded by love, and at home.

Brooklyn passed peacefully on the morning of February 17, 2024.

She was just three years old.

From that unimaginable loss came a resolve — not to let Brooklyn’s story end with her passing. Her journey showed us just how strong and brave our children truly are, while also revealing how isolating, overwhelming, and unfair this road can be for families facing pediatric cancer. Darline and Anthony saw firsthand where families fall through the cracks, how deeply every moment matters, and how urgently compassion is needed.

Brooklyn’s Petals of Hope Foundation exists because of that truth.