In Loving Memory of Aaliyah Selena Ruiz Evans !
My name is Brian Evans, and together with Andrea Ruiz, I am the proud father of Aaliyah Selena Ruiz Evans, our beautiful daughter who was tragically stillborn at full term on February 14, 2025 — Valentine’s Day — at Medical City Dallas.
This message is born not only from grief, but from heartbreak intensified by ongoing trauma, institutional failure, and a deep injustice that no parent should ever be forced to endure. Our daughter was taken from us under circumstances that were entirely preventable, and even in death, she has been denied the dignity and peace she deserves because of medical negligence and administrative indifference.
Aaliyah was more than a baby. She was our hope, our dream, our light. As a first-time father, I attended every appointment, every ultrasound — just to witness her grow. I remember watching her heartbeat on the screen, seeing her tiny feet stretch. Andrea and I were told time and time again that our baby girl was healthy, thriving, and full term.
On February 10th, Andrea visited Medical City Dallas for routine monitoring. We were told everything was fine. But just two days later, she was called back due to elevated hemoglobin and blood sugar levels. She was admitted for observation on February 13th, induced that same day — and by the morning of February 14th, we were forced to face the unimaginable. Our baby girl, our Aaliyah, was born still.
But what devastates us most is this: the doctor herself admitted that had labor been induced just days earlier — on February 10th — our daughter would have had a chance at life. That window of opportunity was overlooked. No action was taken. A failure of judgment, a delay in intervention, and the very system that is supposed to protect life became the reason ours was taken away.
As if that were not enough, the sorrow of losing our daughter has been made worse by months of administrative negligence. Despite submitting a formal Amendment of Health Information to the hospital on April 25, 2025, her death certificate remains incomplete. The required physician signature has not been submitted to the city registrar. We have done everything humanly possible to meet their requirements — including physically visiting offices, making phone calls, and pleading with the very individuals who held the responsibility to finalize this process.
Instead of support, we’ve received silence. Instead of compassion, we’ve been met with deflection. The attending physician refused multiple times to properly sign the autopsy, delaying our daughter’s burial, and in doing so, denied us the closure we so desperately need. It is unacceptable — and it is inhumane.
BIGGEST QUESTIONS?
1) Why are doctors shielded from accountability when their DOCUMENTED negligence leads to stillbirth?
2) How is it that in the same state where women are denied reproductive choices during the same gestational period!? But, WOMEN are denied the ability to hold medical professionals accountable when decisions — or indecisions — lead to a preventable death of a full-term, healthy baby?
Our story is not isolated. It is the story of countless mothers and fathers, quietly suffering because the system has silenced them. Parents who are told their grief is part of life. Parents who are made to feel guilty, ashamed, or powerless in the face of legal barriers that protect institutions but not people.
“For Aaliyah, and For Every Stillborn Child Who Deserved Better”
We have launched a fundraiser in Aaliyah’s name — not simply for our own pursuit of justice, but to build a platform for all grieving parents. The funds will help families secure legal representation and to establish an advocacy fund that speaks for the voiceless.
These funds will support families like ours, caught in a system that has forgotten its humanity!
SHE WAS HERE – My Aaliyah Selena Ruiz Evans
