Ella Strong: Bresee plays for younger sister, inspired by her brain cancer battle |
CLEMSON – Defensive tackle
Bryan Bresee walks out onto the field for pregame warmups and immediately looks into the stands for his family, usually his dad Richie, his mother Meghan, and younger sister Ella. Two members of that group have been noticeable in their absence through the first two games of the 2021 season, but Bresee hopes for a reunion later this season. It’s a reunion we are all hoping for.
Bresee, Clemson’s dynamic defensive leader, grew up in a household with three sisters. Two were older – Bailey and Kendall – and those two helped mold their younger brother into the scrapper he is today. They picked on him. They tormented him. They made him tougher and fueled his competitive fire. But they also loved him, fiercely. “My sisters heavily shaped my childhood. My two older sisters always would pick on me when I was younger and all that kind of stuff,” Bresee told TigerNet Tuesday. “So, I think just having a big family in general kind of adds on to that.” When the youngest child, Ella, came along, Bresee didn’t take over the role of a tormentor. He turned into the protector. “Me and Ella, we're pretty close in age. She's 14 now,” Bresee said. “We've been really close through our childhood and stuff. She would come to all my sporting events. Our family's just really close in general. Everybody, all of my siblings, are really close. Definitely with her more than anybody else (as the protector), but just over all of my siblings as I got bigger, but definitely Ella. Just trying to keep her out of harm's way was really important to me.” No one dared mess with Ella as long as Bryan was around. He’s always been bigger than most of those around him, and he plays the game he loves with a violent edge that is both noticeable and thrilling. One look at the older brother sent most would-be troublemakers packing. But then the family received news earlier this year about Ella, something that not even her tough brother could protect her from. Ella was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Medulloblastoma is a cancerous (malignant) brain tumor that starts in the lower back part of the brain, called the cerebellum. The cerebellum is involved in muscle coordination, balance, and movement. Medulloblastoma tends to spread through cerebrospinal fluid — the fluid that surrounds and protects your brain and spinal cord — to other areas around the brain and spinal cord. This tumor rarely spreads to other areas of the body. “It was a big shock to everybody in our family... It's just something you'd never really expect,” Bresee said. “So, just getting that call from my mom when I was down here was really tough. But you know, our family, we're all backing her, and support her all the way. And our neighborhood, our community is doing a really good job of supporting as well.” He then said that Ella has inspired him with her fight, her toughness, and her attitude even though she’s had treatments and hasn’t felt like her normal self. The family spent time at St. Jude’s in Memphis, Tennessee, May 16-July 9, and she started chemotherapy on August 19 at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. “Going through all this, I've never seen her in a bad mood or upset... She keeps a really positive mindset throughout all this, and even though... how sick she feels, how awful she feels, whenever I see her or I call her, she's smiling,” Bresee said. “That just keeps everybody around her positive, too, when you see that she's going through all this, and she's able to smile and laugh and stay positive through all of it. It just radiates throughout everybody.” Bresee laughed when he was asked if Ella had the same intensity he exhibits on the football field. “She's a little bit more laid back than me, but super competitive,” he said. “She has all the fight in the world in her, and she's going to be just fine.” Ella is a freshman at Urbana High School, and the school allowed her to have a normal first day. Her friends and community have rallied to her side, and she’s welcomed a new niece into the world. And she’s done it without her protector. It’s life as normal as the family can make it. “It's really tough being here and not being able to kind of experience this with her, go through it with her. I feel like I want to be able to be there to encourage her and do things that a normal brother and sisters should be able to do,” Bresee said. “And I'm not able to right now. So that's tough, but you've just got to stay positive about everything and keep going. Our community, our friends, and our family in the area are all awesome. “And they've done a great job of supporting Ella and our family throughout this. And my mom and sisters, now that she's back at home, doing chemo in DC, everyone's able to be around her. I just had a little baby niece that was born. So having her and all the family around her is a lot easier for me to rest my head than when she's in Memphis with just her and my mom. That was a lot tougher. So having her back home, it's definitely a little easier now.” Bryan wanted to find some way to let Ella know how much she means to him, to let her know that he supports her and her fight and that she is never far from his thoughts, even when he’s playing. Prior to the first game against Georgia, Bresee had the trainers run a long, white strip of tape up his arms and asked trainer Cheyenne Reynolds to write “Ella Strong” on both arms. “Ella is not able to come to my games right now. With what she's battling through, I know I kind of surprised her with it,” Bresee said. “I knew it would be something that she could really, really look forward to, if she was able to see it out on the field. And that's just kind of what I'm playing for this year, is for her. And what she's going through is a tough battle, a really tough battle right now. Probably tougher than anything I'll go through all year. So, I just kind of keep that in my mind.” He said Ella is in his thoughts, even in the heat of battle. “When things get tough, I do (think of Ella). It's like when you need that extra push or that little extra motivation,” Bresee said. “When you think about what she's going through, it just gives you that. Because it's like, if Ella can go through all this, I can finish this. This is nothing compared to that.” Bresee talks to Ella every day, and it’s his hope that he will be able to walk out on the field sometime in December and see Ella and his mother sitting in the stands. “I call every day, and we just catch up and talk, but it's not about anything that would be different than anybody else. You know? Just talking to her, I ask her how she feels,” he said. “I would never be able to tell she was sick if I didn't know. Just the way she's able to stay positive, and she's really fighting to get through this, to get through chemo right now, so she'd be able to come to our games in December. So, I think that kind of motivates her. So, I just kind of keep that in her mind, and I think that's a big help.” What would it mean for him to play a postseason game with Ella in attendance? “That'd be awesome. That's really what I'm looking forward to, being able to get her and my mom out to a game,” Bresee said. “That's a hundred percent the goal right now for me, just to keep going, and it'd be huge to get them out there. It's going to be awesome. It's what I'm looking forward to for this whole season. Just to have Ella there, I know she loves coming down here to the games and being out here. So, just to see her be able to be happy and to come down here and do what she wants is going to be super exciting for me.” Ella’s fight is far from over, but she has the support of her family and her friends, and she has a big brother, a protector, who is ready to step in and fight for her and with her every step of the way. Get well soon, Ella, and we will see you in December and cheer on that big brother with you. ?@BryanBresee? Ella and I can’t be in the stands cheering for you. BUT we will be cheering super loud from MD. We love you so much! Go Tigers pic.twitter.com/fpRL44Lgqs
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