Luke Bryan, his wife Caroline and their family are mourning the loss of Sadie Brett Boyer, the young daughter of Caroline's brother and sister-in-law, Bo and Ellen Boyer. A representative for the singer confirmed the news to The Boot on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 21).

According to Facebook posts from Ellen Boyer, Sadie Brett was struggling with a number of medical issues, including heart problems. A post on Sunday night (Feb. 19) indicated that Sadie Brett had contracted an infection in recent days; on Monday (Feb. 20), Boyer was asking for prayers after her daughter "declined overnight."

"Please flood the heavens with prayers," Boyer wrote around 5:30PM ET on Monday. "We will not give up on our tough, brave Brett."

On Tuesday, around 2:30PM ET, Bryan tweeted a thank you to his fans for their prayers for Sadie Brett. He did not provide any context, but fans replying to the tweet were familiar with the situation and offered their prayers and condolences.

In late 2016, Bryan had provided a few updates on Sadie Brett in his fan app; in one of them, he noted that she was in the pediatric cardiac unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville.

Country Stars Who Have Suffered Terrible Tragedies

The death of Bryan's niece is just one of a number of family tragedies that the country superstar has dealt with throughout his life: Bryan lost his brother Chris in a car accident in 1996, and his sister Kelly unexpectedly passed away in 2007. In 2014, Bryan's brother-in-law Ben (Kelly's widower) died just after Thanksgiving; following Ben's death, Bryan and his wife welcomed Ben and Kelly's son Til, their nephew, into their family (Til’s sisters, Bryan and Caroline’s two nieces, are both old enough to be on their own).

"We feel honored that we are so blessed to take him in," Bryan said of Til in mid-2015. "He has two older sisters, too, so now I’m kind of like, I’ve gotta do the whole ‘scare whoever, the boys that they are talking to.’ I have to play that role, too.”

Bryan and Caroline have two sons of their own, Bo and Tate, and although taking in a teenager has not been easy, the couple is focused on staying positive and trucking through the difficulties.

“We feel like if we just stay positive through this, maybe we’ll be a positive inspiration for people that had these things happen to ‘em,” Bryan says. “You just have to plow on and play the hand that’s dealt.”

Country Artists Who Have Lost Children

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