Alexander Family
Florida resident Bridget Pier first visited Hawaii last year when she served as maid of honor for her mother
Meighan’s Makapuu beach wedding to fiancé Steven Alexander. Something about the islands touched Bridget
deeply, and the cheerful seven-year-old was thrilled when her family returned to Hawaii again this year to
celebrate Meighan and Steven’s first anniversary. “Bridget loved the ocean and all the creatures in
it,” shared mom Meighan. “She embraced the Hawaiian Islands and the people.” Bridget even
surprised her family during this year’s trip by declaring that she would live in Hawaii someday. The love
she had for life and her passion for helping others reflected her Aloha Spirit, and she felt at home here.
But on June 29, after returning to their hotel from a joyous day of surfing the North Shore with her mom, step-dad, and 10-year-old brother Brent, Bridget suffered a massive stroke. Doctors at Kapiolani Hospital tried valiantly to save her but the damage was too great, and she passed away on July 3. An undetected heart infection may have sent tissue to her brain, where it blocked the blood flow.
During her hospitalization and the days immediately after Bridget’s passing, Steven, Meighan, Brent, and Bridget’s Auntie Reni stayed at the Judd Hillside Ronald McDonald House.
“The House was wonderful,” Meighan said in a Miami newspaper interview. “There are some families that are facing weeks of care for their children, and the cost of lodging in a hotel could very well bankrupt them. To have this lodging available is a godsend and people should do all they can to support it.”
When it was clear that they were going to lose their little girl, the family gathered its courage and made a remarkable decision. Because of her resolute desire to be in Hawaii, and her strong belief in helping others, it was decided that they would honor her life and dreams by donating her organs to those in Hawaii who needed them, thus creating a living legacy that Bridget would have been proud of.
“We are touched and overwhelmed with the support and love we’ve received,” Meighan said. “People have asked us what they can do for us. My answer is: consider becoming an organ donor. You can save a life. It’s an awesome gift.”
The family has also encouraged friends to make charitable donations to RMHC-HI and Kapiolani Hospital in honor of Bridget. “We were fortunate to be housed at the Ronald McDonald House,” she said. “It was such a peaceful and loving environment.”
So, even though Bridget wouldn’t be able to spend her life here as she had dreamed, she was able to help others live who may not have made it, if it weren’t for her. As a final statement of her love for the islands, her family took Bridget’s ashes by Hawaiian canoe out into the ocean that she cared so much about, and scattered them. §