Liza Burke’s untimely passing has left a deep void in the hearts of those who followed her remarkable journey.
As Liza Burke took her last breath, her brother, who was sleeping on the bed next to her, held her hand tightly in his. She wouldn’t go back to sleep.
Liza, a beautiful 21-year-old University of Georgia senior who planned a final pre-graduation spring break trip to Cabo for 53 friends, became the subject of worldwide attention. But while there, she suffered a brain hemorrhage and was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. It was her last trip.
When Lucy died on April 28, her mother Laura McKeithen said “Her brother was sleeping on the sofa and holding her hand all night. Jack held her hand as she took her last breath.
Don’t waste time worrying about stupidity, advises Liz’s mother, who describes her as someone who has “lived it big” and is honest and unabashed herself. Just go for it.
Liza, an adventurous soul who was inspired to travel the world, lived by this idea.
While on vacation in Cabo, Liza sent her mom pictures of her doing handstands on the sand, sailing, and cliff jumping. The group huddled around a beach bonfire singing and telling stories about the night before. The next morning, after working out with her beau, she skipped breakfast early, claiming a blinding headache. She went to her room for a nap and was found unconscious a few hours later.
Doctors in Mexico removed part of Liz’s skull to stop the bleeding after she suffered a brain bleed over concerns about a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Liza’s mother quickly came to the rescue and brought her back to Florida where she was sent to the Mayo Clinic. After medical staff ruled out an AVM, she was found to have an aggressive brainstem malignancy.
When Liza first came out of anesthesia, Laura remembers pulling the ventilator off her lips and saying they were worried she wouldn’t be able to breathe on her own, but of course, she was fine.
Due to the tumor’s pressure on the part of her brain that kept her awake, Liza had trouble falling asleep.
According to her mother, she spoke a little while awake and communicated by squeezing her hand or moving her toes. Liza’s mother asked if she was holy. Liza didn’t grab her hand when she asked if she was scared when Liza asked other questions.
Before Liza began her six weeks of daily radiation treatment, her family and friends had to spend a few more days with her.
She tried walking, cycling, and crouching. But a few days later, doctors discovered a new brain bleed.
A discussion with the medical team prompted Liza’s mother’s desire to prevent her daughter from being intubated again.
If the brain tumor had been discovered earlier and Liza’s headaches from freshman year had been an early warning sign, would her daughter still be alive, Laura wondered?
When the family learned that treatment was failing and hospice care was recommended, Laura looked for a place where she believed her daughter would be happy.
Her mother recalled wanting to go somewhere beautiful, where she could celebrate with friends and family and be outside and enjoy the ocean or the mountains.
Laura decided on a beachfront Airbnb, made sure it could be used for hospice care with the owners and rented it for a month. On April 19, Liza and her immediate family moved there, and friends and grandparents often stopped by.
Liza was awake at the moment, but unable to speak. Laura said her child would wiggle his toes and make a small movement with his lip or eyelid to communicate.
They all got together on April 27th to see Liz’s favorite movie Interstellar starring Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain.
After the movie, Laura went to her room and said that she was aware that if she was there, she could drive her crazy because she would always stare at her, hold her hand, squeeze her toes, and kiss her.
In the early hours of Friday morning, Liza died close to her brother Jack.
Liza sighed, exhaled once more, and then passed into the next world. Now that Liza and her sister are back together, they’re making up for lost time! Laura said. Liz’s older sister Edie died in 2008 from the rare genetic disease MPS1.
If she could, Laura wrote in her painfully brooding online journal, she would cling to Liza and follow her.
On May 2, Laura received a letter in the mail that Liza had written to her future self as part of a class project from her senior year of high school. When the students graduated from college, her teacher agreed to mail the letters to the students. Liza would graduate on May 12, 2023.
It was spectacular. Laura said it was all her and promised to recite passages from her autobiography at the funeral.
Laura plans to scatter Liz’s ashes in the mountains and possibly in Mexico since she was cremated.
According to Laura, her daughter was a brave, courageous, adventurous, and joyful young woman before cancer stole her life, but that didn’t stop her from moving on. She went through life.
Her legacy is to make the most of every day. She wanted others to know that she had made the most of her life. She wished she could live her life as successfully as she did.
To celebrate the two sisters and the honest, lively, fun, and wild behavior they gave back to the world, her mother is asking for donations to the Liza and Edie Burke Education Fund.
Losing Liza is devastating! She was so young and her future looked so promising. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this terrible time, especially Laura who recently lost her second daughter.
Liza Burke’s story is a reminder to us all to live with courage, embrace adventure and make the most of the time we have. Although her physical presence may be gone, her living spirit continues to inspire us and urge us to seize each day and live it to the fullest, just as she did. In the face of tragedy, Liz’s life stands as a testament to the power of resilience, love, and lasting influence of a young woman who lived her life with unwavering determination and an unyielding spirit.