From Patient to Purpose: Why Brinny Lou’s Family Gives Back to UNC Children’s

When Ila Bittner looks at her daughter Brinny Lou today—running, reading, twirling in dresses, planning her next outfit—she sometimes has to remind herself how far they’ve come.

In October 2022, Brinny Lou was just two and a half years old when her family’s world stopped. What had seemed like one respiratory infection after another turned into something far more serious. Bruises appeared where they didn’t make sense. The RSV wouldn’t resolve. And then came the words no parent is prepared to hear: acute myeloid leukemia.

Living in Morehead City, the family quickly learned that Brinny Lou needed a level of care their local hospital simply could not provide. Ila and her husband were told to pack a bag and go to UNC Children’s. They drove more than three hours through the night to Chapel Hill, where they spent their first exhausted hours in the emergency department before landing on the 5C floor at 3:30 a.m.

“It was overwhelming,” Ila recalls. “There was so much information and so much fear.”

Seven Months in the Hospital

Brinny Lou’s treatment stretched over seven months. In that time, she endured chemotherapy, a COVID infection just before Christmas, and a severe bacterial infection that landed her in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for more than a week. She lost muscle strength. She needed physical therapy. There were long nights when the beeping of monitors felt endless—and moments when a nurse simply sitting beside Ila made all the difference.

Over the seven months they spent at UNC Children’s, relationships formed that extended well beyond discharge. “We’ve kept in touch with many of our nurses,” Ila recalls.

In May 2023, Brinny Lou rang the bell, a tradition that marks the completion of treatment and a period of remission. Now, she returns to UNC Children’s each year for follow-up visits as healthy, thriving girl who is full of personality.

“She’s a light,” Ila says with a laugh. “She’s sassy. She has opinions.”

Turning Gratitude Into Action

During Brinny Lou’s treatment, friends organized a fundraiser to support the family. After she completed therapy, Ila and her husband knew they wanted to do more than say thank you.

They created the Brave Little Brinny Lou Foundation, named after the hashtag that carried them through months of uncertainty. The foundation focuses on supporting Eastern North Carolina families experiencing childhood cancer.

“Your family is split up if you have other kids,” Ila explains. With other children at home, families are often split between the hospital and home, making constant travel an unavoidable and costly part of daily life.

In just two years, the foundation has raised more than $95,000, helping individual families directly while also investing in the future of pediatric cancer care through research at UNC Children’s.

Why Research Matters

For Brinny Lou’s family, research represents the possibility of gentler treatments, fewer children requiring intensive care, and fewer families living under the constant threat of infection.

“Treatment saved our daughter’s life, but it was incredibly hard on her body,” she says.

Each year, a portion of the foundation’s proceeds is donated to UNC Children’s pediatric hematology and oncology research, supporting the clinicians and scientists working to improve outcomes not just for leukemia, but for childhood cancers of all kinds.

No amount of fundraising, she says, could ever fully repay what her family received.

“We can never give back what UNC gave us,” Ila says. “But if we can make even a small difference for the next family, that’s worth it.”

Looking Ahead

The Brave Little Brinny Lou Foundation hosts an annual family-friendly barbecue, with plans to expand into additional community events in the coming years. As Brinny Lou grows (now a kindergartner who loves pink, purple, and giving hugs freely) the mission grows with her.

When asked how long she plans to continue the work, Ila is matter-of-fact. “I don’t plan on stopping.”

The next Brave Little Brinny Lou Foundation barbecue will be held on September 20.

For more information on supporting patients and their families at UNC Children’s, please contact Mary Gard, Executive Director of Development, UNC Health Foundation.