Tiana Death: Former Comm Games hurdler’s heartbreaking health battle

A former Commonwealth Youth Games hurdler who had dreams of competing in the Olympics has been through hell fighting a devastating illness, with her mum opening up on her daughter’s heartbreaking health battle.

Tiana Death. Picture: GoFundMe/Supplied.

A former Commonwealth Youth Games hurdler who had dreams of competing in the Olympics has been through hell fighting a devastating illness, with her mum opening up on her daughter’s heartbreaking health battle.

Tiana Death, 24, of Queenscliff, was diagnosed with auto-immune encephalitis earlier this year and has in recent weeks been in a neurology ward as experts work to manage her condition.

Tiana, who competed at an elite junior level and came sixth overall in the 100-metre hurdles at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau in the Bahamas, went from peak fitness levels to “not being able to do anything without having a seizure”, her mum tearfully told The Daily Telegraph.

After countless specialist appointments, drug therapy and other treatments, Tiana’s mum Kylie just wants to see her daughter “live the normal life of a 24-year-old girl”.

“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I would rather be in that bed rather than watching my child have seizures,” Kylie, 51, said.

Former junior Olympic hurdler Tiana Death, who competed in the 2017 Comm Games, has been diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, a rare condition where the immune system attacks the brain and causes inflammation and seizures. Picture: Instagram

“From the age of 14 Tiana trained seven days a week and got a scholarship at Barker College for sport. She’s always been really into her fitness, whereas now she can’t do anything without having a seizure.”

When Tiana was 22, Kylie found her daughter laying unconscious in bed, and says at that moment, her daughter’s life “stopped”.

Tiana’s mum Kylie Bradley opened up in an emotional interview about her daughter’s condition.

“You may as have cut her legs off then and there – because her life changed, stopped at that moment,” Kylie said.

“14 months ago we had no evidence of why the seizures were still happening. We were told it’s (the illness) attacking the brain.”

Tiana when she was at the top of her game ahead of the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games. Picture: Ian Svegovic

Kylie said she was grateful that Tiana had received a life saving blood plasma donation.

“A lot of people don’t know how important a plasma donation is, if Tiana hadn’t received the donation she would more than likely be seizing constantly,” she said.

“She’s on six different anti-seizure drugs, but still having seizures which basically means she’s drug resistant. Tragically, it is her life now.”

Tiana just wants to “live the normal life of a 24-year-old girl, her mum said. Picture: Instagram. ,

The mother said her daughter did not want to be defined by her illness.

“This should be the best time of her life but she is so resilient and she’s truly my hero,” Kylie said.

“Her biggest goal now is to be six months seizure-free, and that’s the first hurdle, as we say.

“Then they’ll start looking at perhaps pulling her off some of the anti-seizure medication, but they won’t do that until she has gone six months without having a seizure.

“She’ll probably have to have infusions every month for the rest of her life. But to be seizure free, she’d love to travel, have kids but all the medications she’s on she can’t.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been launched for Tiana.

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Originally published as Tiana Death: Former Comm Games hurdler’s heartbreaking health battle