As he revealed the loss of his 15-year-old sister from brain cancer on Thursday, a standout football player at the University of Clemson wrote a moving homage to her.
‘My dear sister Ella, you astounded me every single day with the fight that you put up and how joyous you were continually during this struggle,’ Bryan Bresee said with a picture of him holding dogs with his beaming younger sister on Instagram on Thursday.
He wrote: “I want to thank you for providing pleasure to not just myself, but to so many others. Never did I imagine I would be sitting here today saying bye to you.”
“You are the finest sister a brother could have, and I am certain that Heaven has gotten a lovely angel today,” he said. I will always and forever love you, Ella bear.
Early last year, Ella received a diagnosis of a brain tumour that was aggressive.
Her death occurs just a few days after she was recognised in the school’s game versus Furman University.
She and the rest of the Bresee family were present at the university in South Carolina for the Saturday night game, but on Friday she became ill and had to be transported to an emergency hospital, as per Sports Illustrated.
After the university’s victory against Furman, Bresee joined his family to be at her side as she was flown to Washington, DC, on Saturday morning.
Bresee will likely skip Saturday’s matchup with Louisiana Tech as he grieves for his sister.
Head coach Dabo Swinney told reporters on Wednesday night that he is unsure of when Bresee, who is anticipated to be selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, could make a comeback.
There are much more important things than football, like I indicated [Tuesday], Swinney added. He must pay attention to what he is doing. We will be here when he is prepared to return and start playing, but for the time being, he is where he needs to be.
And when Ella passed away on Thursday, Swinney released a statement in which she said: “Our thoughts are with the whole Bresee family.”
We are all very grateful for the love and support the Clemson family and so many others have given us during this difficult time.
Ella was such a wonderful soul, and the Bresee family and everyone else who had the chance to get to know her will go on in her memory.
“I am stronger now because I experienced Ella’s bravery and fortitude.”
Ella Bresee will continue to be a source of light and strength for our programme and the whole Clemson community, according to the football team’s official Twitter account.
Please join us in offering Bryan and the Bresee family our love and support.