On January 29, Andy Beyer was waiting in the parking lot outside the Reagan National Airport, texting his wife, who was on American Airlines 5342 with their daughter Brielle, a 12-year-old cancer survivor who was a competitive figure skater.
But instead of greeting the girls he “loved more than anything,” he watched firetrucks blazing by, not realizing he had just lost his “soulmate” and “princess” to the deadly midair crash that claimed the lives of 67 people.
Cancer-themed merchandise
On January 29, Brielle, 12, was traveling with her mom, Justyna, from Kansas to her home in Northern Virginia, where she lived with her dad, Andy and baby brother, 6-year-old Kallen.
Brielle was part of a select, elite group of the nation’s top young figure skaters, and the mother-daughter duo were returning home after six days of intensive training in Wichita.
“Six days was the longest we had ever been apart. It was it was hard. I really missed them. I was really looking forward to give them a hug,” Beyer told NBC, adding that his daughter was “just meant to sparkle.”
It was a huge accomplishment for the young girl, who as a baby, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer “that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Washington Post reports that Brielle went through several surgeries, and spent some time on a ventilator.
Though Brielle was in recovery, she had some “residual nerve differences in her legs,” which made skating challenging, yet, nationally, she was still one of the top girls in her age group.
“This sport can be a grind, and it’s so important to find those moments where you are just filled with the joy of the whole thing,” Beyer, 44, told the Washington Post, adding the trip to Wichita “was one of those moments.”
“It was a big life goal of [Brielle’s], and she was so proud of herself. And Justyna was so proud of her, too,” Beyers adds of his wife, 42, who gave up her job in nursing to help their daughter realize her dreams.
