Liza Burke, a University of Georgia senior, died a little over a week after her family decided to stop treatment for her brain tumor, her mother told McClatchy News.
Burke died just after 2 a.m. on Friday, April 28, according to her mom, Laura McKeithen, who also posted the news in an online journal.
After her passing, those with her dressed Burke in colorful pajamas, braided her hair and said their goodbyes.
“It is with both relief and belief that I share Liza’s passing,” McKeithen said. “Liza has now been reunited with her sister and they are making up for lost time!”
Burke was taken to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where her brain will be removed and used for further studies, her mom said.
Memorial services will be held in Athens, Georgia, and her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.
Burke’s death comes a little more than a week after her family decided to stop her treatment for a grade 4 astrocytoma tumor.
Also known as a glioblastoma, this tumor is “the most malignant, aggressive and common” type of astrocytoma, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. The tumor is a “highly aggressive cancer” that progresses quickly.
After Burke failed to respond to treatment, her family “met with several doctors and made the decision to cease radiation and pursue providing Liza a send-off like only she deserves,” McKeithen said in an April 17 journal entry.
“Tonight we begin the hunt for the perfect place by the sea where Liza can enjoy her final days supported by the infinite love that surrounds her,” McKeithen wrote. “If I could, I would hang onto Liza and follow her. But since I can’t, please continue your prayers for our Sleeping Warrior and for all of us who will never fully fill the void that will be left in her wake.”
Liza Burke’s story
While on spring break with friends in Mexico, Burke developed an unusually painful headache on March 10, McClatchy News reported. She left breakfast to rest and hours later was found unconscious in her room.
Burke was rushed to a hospital after friends were unable to wake her. On March 14, Burke and her family made it back to the United States and she was admitted to the Mayo Clinic.
Originally, doctors diagnosed Burke with a brain bleed caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) — a tangle of blood vessels that causes arteries and veins to be connected wrong.
However, on March 28, preliminary biopsy results revealed that Burke was suffering from a grade 4 astrocytoma tumor.
Friends described Burke as “genuine, dynamic, playful and fierce,” according to a GoFundMe started by a family friend.
“Liza amazes me daily with her ability to do this dying thing with bountiful courage, grace, and beauty, but PLEASE shout out your prayers for Liza’s peace and comfort because it looks hard,” McKeithen wrote in an April 24 update.
“Liza exemplifies all the good in this world, wrapped into one beautiful, kind, selfless and smart lady,” one person commented on the post.
“To some of you she may be a stranger, but to so many on UGA’s campus she is a friend,” another friend wrote on Facebook.
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