When the Bruno family was in the thick of it with their daughter Holly fighting through the final stages of her battle with cancer, their community wanted to help.
When Heidi was asked how they could help, she mentioned that they could help take care of some yard work that needed a little TLC as they were spending a lot of time at the hospital for Holly’s treatments. What happened next was incredibly heartwarming and beautiful.
A few days later, 50 to 100 people showed up to their front yard and completely transformed it, going above and beyond anything that Heidi or her family could have ever imagined.
But this work was about so much more than their yard: it was an incredible outpouring of love from a community that just wanted to help and serve a family going through incredible hardship.
Since then, Holly’s beautiful and brave spirit has been kept alive by her family, who have done everything to spread the message that “love is everywhere.” This message, their battle cry, was created by Holly herself during one of her hospital stays. Despite everything she was going through, their little girl couldn’t help but see the love and joy that surrounded her.
Creating space for parents who have lost a child to share their stories on this podcast has been the most fulfilling part of this project. And even though today’s story is emotional, I hope this conversation will fill your cup with hope and gratitude. Heidi shares lessons about the power of serving others and letting others serve you.
I hope you’ll enjoy hearing the beautiful story of Holly Bruno. The energetic, adventure-loving, and fiercely loyal little girl who lost her battle with a rare soft tissue tumor but started an incredible movement that has helped others see the joy in their journey.
Key Takeaways with Heidi Bruno
- Finding courage in listening to other people’s medical journeys.
- How to cope when you receive heart-shattering news.
- Choosing to see that love is everywhere, even in the hardest moments.
- Learning to let people serve you during hard moments & the joy and love you receive from it.
- Rediscovering faith after going through a traumatic experience.
- Processing grief and helping siblings manage their emotions and feelings of loss.
- Creating space to remember the loved ones we’ve lost.
- How giving back and serving others can help you heal.
Heidi Bruno Tweetables
- “Love is everywhere. Even in those hard, hard times. When you look for it, there is love and there is beauty. And for me to know that she felt that too, that instead of focusing on all the awful things she was focusing on that love…since then it became our rally cry.” – Heidi Bruno
- “We’ve always tried to find ways to make Holly a part of our life, to remember her. Because I know her siblings are thinking about her too, and it is important to give them permission to grieve, remember, and talk about her.” – Heidi Bruno
- “Grief doesn’t go away, we change to carry it differently. It’s okay that the sadness can live with all the joy.” – Jaime Freedlund
Resources
- Holly’s Love is Everywhere Facebook Page
- Video: This Is Church – The Bruno Family
- Support for Families When a Child Has Cancer
- When Your Child Has Cancer | American Cancer Society
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