07/07/2026
Hello Everyone, this is Tim. I'm one of the board members and a longtime friend of Brandi. I know we've been really quiet lately and I'm here to shed some light. I've been struggling for days to find the right words, but I think Brandi's mom says it best.
"For as long as anyone can remember, if someone was hurting, Brandi Brignac was already on her way.
She never waited to be asked. She simply showed up.
Over the years, she has organized fundraisers for children’s burn camps, spearheaded the effort to replace the home of a family devastated by flooding—helping move them from surviving on the front porch of what remained of their home back into a safe place to live. She has gathered and delivered disaster relief supplies, coordinated volunteers, and stood beside communities facing unimaginable loss. She answered the call during Hurricane Harvey, Louisiana’s Great Flood of 2016, Hurricanes Laura and Ida, and spent 47 days in North Carolina and Tennessee with her K9s following Hurricane Helene, assisting with disaster response and recovery efforts.
She founded Mercy Search and Rescue because she believes every family deserves answers. Alongside her K9 partners, she has spent thousands of volunteer hours searching for the missing. Some searches ended with joyful reunions. Others ended with bringing loved ones home so families could finally find peace. No matter the outcome, she has always shown up with compassion, determination, and hope.
That same heart carried into every part of her life. She raised her children as a single mother, is now a proud grandmother, and has always been the friend people could count on. She has lived by one simple belief: a life isn’t measured by what we gain, but by how much of ourselves we give to others. She has never regretted giving her heart away in service.
For nearly three years, Brandi has been quietly fighting Pseudotumor Cerebri, also known as Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH).
Behind the smile is a battle few people truly see. She lives with relentless migraines, debilitating pressure inside her head, chronic body pain, temporary cognitive impairment, vision disturbances, and episodes that have caused her to lose consciousness. There are days when simply climbing the stairs in her own home feels overwhelming, yet she continues pushing herself to provide the same level of care, training, and service to others.
Despite countless appointments, procedures, injections, Botox, rescue medications, and multiple failed treatments, her neurology team has exhausted every medical option.
Now, surgery is her only path forward.
Her physicians are determining whether multiple venous sinus stents or brain shunt surgery will give her the best chance at relief. Without treatment, she is at risk of permanent vision loss. This surgery isn’t about comfort—it’s about protecting her eyesight, preserving her quality of life, and giving her the chance to continue the work she loves.
Recovery will keep her from working for several months.
For someone who has spent a lifetime taking care of everyone else, the hardest part isn’t the surgery.
It’s needing help.
She worries about losing her independence, her livelihood, and the nonprofit she has devoted her heart to building. She worries about paying her bills, caring for the search dogs who continue serving families, and losing the purpose that has defined so much of her life.
If you know Brandi, you know she would never ask for help herself.
She has always been the one organizing the fundraiser, loading the trailer, delivering supplies, comforting grieving families, or searching tirelessly for someone’s loved one.
Now, for the first time, she cannot rescue herself.
If Brandi has ever touched your life, trained your dog, searched for a loved one, volunteered in your community, or inspired you through her selfless service, we ask that you stand beside her now.
Whether through a donation, a prayer, or simply sharing her story, every act of kindness will help ease the burden of this difficult season.
Brandi has always believed that a life well lived is a life poured into others. She has no regrets about the path she chose. She would choose it all again.
Now it’s our turn to pour into her.
Because even those who spend their lives rescuing others sometimes need someone to rescue them."
I will be taking over what I can until Brandi fully recovers. Operations are suspended at this time and we fully expect to return in full force once she is healed.
Thank you all for your love, support, and patience.
-Tim
