Ten-year-old Leila Rose Golianis recently died after she collapsed and suffered an arteriovenous malformation rupture on her brain stem that caused a severe brain bleed.
Newhall School District Superintendent Leticia Hernandez and the district’s governing board held a moment of silence in her honor during Tuesday’s meeting.
Jessica Barnes, work supervisor for Adriana Silvestre — Rose Golianis’ mother — described the 10-year-old as “the sweetest little girl. Just off the bat, just so sweet,” she said emotionally during a phone interview on Wednesday afternoon.
Barnes met the 10-year-old only once, but it was enough for her to know she was a kind child, she said.
When Silvestre had to fill out work-related paperwork, Barnes invited her to her home and she brought along Rose Golianis, she recalled.
Rose Golianis didn’t hesitate to play with Barnes’ younger son and “just right away they clicked … just like (her mother) you could feel her daughter’s warmth right away,” she said.
Following Rose Golianis’ death, a GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral costs, the cremation, and to ensure she is given “the beautiful service she deserves.” It is something that “no family ever expects do to for a child,” the fundraising post read.
“She was, and always will be, the light of our lives — full of a lot of sass, love, laughter, and kindness that touched everyone who knew her. She truly was an old soul, an angel here on Earth,” the GoFundMe post read.
According to the post, which had a goal of $15,000 and was 93% funded at the time of this story’s publication, this isn’t the first time tragedy has struck the family.
The 10-year-old’s father died just two and a half years ago and the family “never thought we would lose the precious gift he left us. Leila brought us so much joy … But deep down, we know they were soulmates,” the post added.
Rose was a fifth-grade student at Newhall Elementary School, Hernandez said during Tuesday’s meeting, before everyone present held a moment of silence in her honor, and to honor a district employee who also recently died.
“I want to thank our psychologists and counselors for supporting Newhall Elementary right now. It’s been a very difficult time, and I just want to thank you for that,” Hernandez said. “All of you just run, right away and help and support. I deeply appreciate that.”
“Any amount, no matter how small, means so much to our family during this heartbreaking time,” the GoFundMe post read. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your love, support, and compassion during this nightmare we’re living through.”
The GoFundMe can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-leila-roses-funeral-costs
