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Inset: Reese Bryan (GoFundMe). Background: The Nebraska cheerleading facility being sued by Reese Bryan’s parents for negligence and allegedly contributing to her death from a brain bleed (Google Maps).
An 8-year-old cheerleader from Nebraska tragically passed away due to a severe brain hemorrhage, allegedly caused by being compelled to perform demanding cheer routines despite a pre-existing neurological condition, according to her family’s claims. Compounding the tragedy, the family also accuses the girl’s pediatrician of neglecting to order critical imaging scans, even as she exhibited multiple symptoms associated with a brain tumor.
“Dr. Vanderbur considered requesting imaging but ultimately decided against it,” assert the parents of Reese Bryan in a lawsuit reviewed by Law&Crime.
The lawsuit details that Reese’s pilocytic astrocytoma, a type of brain tumor, went undetected and untreated. “This tumor was highly treatable if correctly diagnosed,” the legal complaint states. “Due to Dr. Vanderbur’s failure to adhere to the appropriate standards of care, Reese endured severe consequences: bleeding from the tumor, increased intracranial pressure from the hemorrhage, exacerbation of her existing neurological condition, and ultimately her death on February 23, 2024.”
At the time of her death, Reese was part of the Elite Cheer team in Omaha. Her family’s complaint names the team, her coach, and the co-owner as defendants, accusing them of negligence.
The lawsuit further claims that Reese had a known “existing neurological condition,” and that Elite Cheer was aware of her symptoms, which included episodes of vomiting during a competition in Kansas City just weeks before her passing. The family contends that this awareness was not enough to prevent the demands placed on her, leading to her untimely death.
Cheer leaders had been advised that Reese vomiting or displaying symptoms during physical activities “constitutes a need to have her transported on an emergency basis to a hospital,” per the complaint.
On Jan. 29, 2024, Reese reported feeling “dizzy, imbalanced, unable to stand, unable to walk” and “unable to hear” with asymmetric facial features reminiscent of a stroke, her parents say. This was allegedly nine days after the Kansas City incident.
“The left side of her face was drooping,” Amanda Bryan, Reese’s mom, told local ABC affiliate KETV in an interview this week. “She was slurring her words. She couldn’t stand up. She was shaking uncontrollably. She was cold.”
According to the complaint, employees at Elite Cheer did nothing to help Reese after she collapsed at their facility in Omaha and instead “abandoned” her while she “suffered” in front of them.
“Despite all these symptoms, [Reese] was left alone, isolated and concealed behind mats,” the complaint alleges, noting how her classmates were told by Elite Cheer personnel to not approach her as she experienced a massive brain bleed, according to the court document.
“[Reese] suffered as the minutes passed by ongoing and growingly irreversible neurological insult as a result of her brain bleeding,” the complaint says. “[Reese] sustained progressively worse neurological damage as she lay alone, eyes shut … and unable to move on Elite Cheer’s mat.”
The complaint says that “no one called 911” and “no one called Reese’s family members.” Reese’s mother says it wasn’t until she arrived to pick her up that she was told about what happened in text messages “from one of the owners” as she was “pulling into the parking lot.”
Amanda Bryan told KETV, “Had you seen what I walked into, anyone in their right mind would have looked at our child and knew she needed help, and she needed it now.”
Reese was rushed to a local hospital by her mom, where she stayed for three weeks before her death on Feb. 23, 2024.
After the Kansas City incident, Reese’s parents say they took her to the girl’s pediatrician, Dr. Lars E. Vanderbur, as she suffered from symptoms of “dizziness, horizontal nystagmus, ptosis on the right eye, and tested positive for strep throat,” per the complaint. Reese was given antibiotics, but her symptoms allegedly continued.
Reese’s dad took her to Vanderbur again days later and he made a diagnosis of ‘post-infection fatigue’ and did not refer Reese for any further follow-up, according to the complaint. He allegedly refused to perform cranial imaging scans that could have detected neurological abnormalities and chose against sending Reese to a pediatric neurologist, despite “all these symptoms,” the complaint says.
“She was never ordered an MRI, CAT scan, nothing,” Amanda Bryan told KETV.
Reese’s parents allege that she died due to medical malpractice and negligence by Elite Cheer, its employees, and Vanderbur. They have requested a jury trial.
The defendants did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Tuesday.