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Holding On To A Mother's Spirit

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Scott McIntyre/Staff Charlie Bryant, 24, second from left, leans in to kiss his mother Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, while his grandmother Irene Brown, 89, helps to give her a drink in her home in East Naples. Brown-Bryant has been suffering the effects of a disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It is a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement.

Photo by SCOTT MCINTYRE

Scott McIntyre/Staff Charlie Bryant, 24, second from left, leans in to kiss his mother Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, while his grandmother Irene Brown, 89, helps to give her a drink in her home in East Naples. Brown-Bryant has been suffering the effects of a disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It is a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement.

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  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Charlie Bryant, 24, second from left, leans in to kiss his mother Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, while his grandmother Irene Brown, 89, helps to give her a drink in her home in East Naples. Brown-Bryant has been suffering the effects of a disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It is a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff In this photo dated a little over a year ago, Brown-Bryant is seen in the way that her family knows her best and standing alongside her son Charlie.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, has her whole family surrounding her trying to make her life as pleasant as possible. She doesn't have much time left on earth though. Brown-Bryant is suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement. Her children saw a change in her mood in the Spring and her son Charlie, 24, decided that it was finally time to take her to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI. After several days in the hospital and dealing with multiple doctors she was eventually diagnosed with the disease and has since traveled back to Naples with her son to be surrounded by family.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Ashleigh Bryant shares a moment with her mother Stephanie Brown-Bryant after she arrived to the East Naples home. Around two weeks ago, Brown-Bryant was able to talk with her children and others but recently has not been able to speak. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement in the body.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, has her whole family surrounding her trying to make her life as pleasant as possible. She doesn't have much time left on earth though. Brown-Bryant is suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement. Her children saw a change in her mood in the Spring and her son Charlie, 24, decided that it was finally time to take her to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI. After several days in the hospital and dealing with multiple doctors she was eventually diagnosed with the disease and has since traveled back to Naples with her son to be surrounded by family.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, has her whole family surrounding her trying to make her life as pleasant as possible. She doesn't have much time left on earth though. Brown-Bryant is suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement. Her children saw a change in her mood in the Spring and her son Charlie, 24, decided that it was finally time to take her to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI. After several days in the hospital and dealing with multiple doctors she was eventually diagnosed with the disease and has since traveled back to Naples with her son to be surrounded by family.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Shortly after lunch, Charlie Bryant and his sister watch videos of their mother before the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease started to affect her body more seriously.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff After being inside most of the day, Irene Brown, 89, takes her daughter Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, out the back patio of Brown-Bryant's home in East Naples. Brown talked to her daughter the entire time outside even though she was unable to reply back. Brown-Bryant has been going through a form of brain damage called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Since he arrived back to Naples with his mother, Charlie Bryant has been making tie-dye t-shirts for friends and family in memory of his mother. When she does pass away, friends and family will wear the shirts at a memorial service they plan to have on the beach.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Shortly after lunch, Charlie Bryant and his sister watch videos of their mother before the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease started to affect her body more seriously.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, has her whole family surrounding her trying to make her life as pleasant as possible. She doesn't have much time left on earth though. Brown-Bryant is suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement. Her children saw a change in her mood in the Spring and her son Charlie, 24, decided that it was finally time to take her to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI. After several days in the hospital and dealing with multiple doctors she was eventually diagnosed with the disease and has since traveled back to Naples with her son to be surrounded by family.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, rests in the living room of her home in East Naples. Just before Memorial Day weekend, Charlie Bryant, 24, decided that he needed to take his mother to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI because she was acting much different than her usual self. After multiple tests and days in the hospital, she was eventually diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in mid-June.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, has her whole family surrounding her trying to make her life as pleasant as possible. She doesn't have much time left on earth though. Brown-Bryant is suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement. Her children saw a change in her mood in the Spring and her son Charlie, 24, decided that it was finally time to take her to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI. After several days in the hospital and dealing with multiple doctors she was eventually diagnosed with the disease and has since traveled back to Naples with her son to be surrounded by family.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Soon after Brown-Bryant went to the hospital for the first time in Providence, RI with her son Charlie Bryant, cards and letters of support started to pour in.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, has her whole family surrounding her trying to make her life as pleasant as possible. She doesn't have much time left on earth though. Brown-Bryant is suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement. Her children saw a change in her mood in the Spring and her son Charlie, 24, decided that it was finally time to take her to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI. After several days in the hospital and dealing with multiple doctors she was eventually diagnosed with the disease and has since traveled back to Naples with her son to be surrounded by family.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Irene Brown massages the hands of her daughter Stephanie Brown-Bryant in Brown-Bryant's home in East Naples. Since Brown-Bryant has been losing function in her hands due to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, family members have been told that massaging her hands helps them from stiffening up.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff Ever since Charlie Bryant, 24, left came back to Naples with his mother Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, to be with family and to be at home, there has been support from several people, family members, and visits from neighbors.
  • Scott McIntyre/Staff After Ashleigh Bryant and her brother Charlie had lunch they spent time talking and reflecting back about times with their mom, Stephanie Brown-Bryant, right, before her Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease took effect.

Stephanie Brown-Bryant, 58, has her whole family surrounding her trying to make her life as pleasant as possible. She doesn't have much time left on earth though. Brown-Bryant is suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a form of brain damage that leads to a rapid decrease of mental function and movement. Her children saw a change in her mood in the Spring and her son Charlie, 24, decided that it was finally time to take her to the hospital while she was visiting him in Providence, RI. After several days in the hospital and dealing with multiple doctors she was eventually diagnosed with the disease and has since traveled back to Naples with her son to be surrounded by family.

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