Zei Brieanna Uwadia

Zei entered this world by way of Wichita, Kansas on February 1st, 2002, 17 years ago. From birth, Zei demonstrated a determined, albeit a bit daring, personality. Her mother recalls Zei as a toddler, walking around, eyes closed, trying to navigate their home. Purposely adding another layer of challenge to this world, possibly preparing herself for a future we could have never guessed. Zei embraced her role of big sister at age seven. She realized the practice of selflessness through her love for her brother Jai and became his advocate and protector, teaching him how to now carry on that love for Zei’s youngest sister Ziah. In school Zei’s teachers called her a quiet leader. She played basketball, participated in Girls on the Run, enjoyed walks with her dog and loved long drives with her mom. Zei and her mother’s best conversations were spoken during those drives, eyes forward, hearts open. In middle school Zei survived harsh bullying and battled social anxiety. She spent her time before high school navigating life, again with her eyes seemingly closed, testing boundaries before finding balance. She found mentors in her North High School Avid and gifted Language Arts teachers. Zei was a reader and a writer of fiction and was most at ease at home with her family. Zei was an introvert that somehow ended up connecting with the world. She suffered sudden respiratory failure likely related to a sensitivity to Bactrim and transitioned from a healthy 16-year-old girl to a critically ill teen in a matter of days. And the toddler challenging her path by closing her eyes changed the minds of a children’s hospital as they allowed her to walk on ecmo life support. But notoriety was never Zei’s purpose. Her purpose for 457 days in the PICU was to survive and return to the ease of home. And that she did.

Zei is survived by her mother Brie Kerschen and her father Kingsley Uwadia, by her brother and sister Jai and Ziah, maternal grandparents Jerry and Rebecca Kerschen, maternal great-grandmother Evelyn Hanna, paternal grandparents Ohio and Mercy Uwadia. Zei’s passing leaves a sacred space amongst cousins as close as siblings and many aunts and uncles.

Zei was preceded in death by her maternal great-grandparents Gerald and Margaret Kerschen, maternal great-grandfather Robert Hanna.

A gathering honoring Zei’s life will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019 from 2 - 4 pm at Newman University, Dugan Center, 3100 McCormick St., Wichita, Kansas 67213. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established with Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice and Children’s Mercy Hospital.