Ex-QB Kurt Warner’s Daughter Opens Up on Family Trauma After Week Spent Helping Critically Ill Children

Long before Kurt Warner became a Super Bowl MVP or two-time NFL MVP, he was a 21-year-old stock boy who fell in love not just with Brenda, but also with her kids. Brenda, a tough Marine and single mom, her life was topsy-turvy after her son Zack slipped from his father’s arms at just four months old, as he suffered a traumatic brain injury. When Kurt Warner entered their lives, he embraced her children with enormous love. The trauma didn’t end.

However, it evolved into a purpose through a foundation, a home for disabled adults, and decades of work through Make-A-Wish. And, recently during the 23rd celebration of Make-A-Wish, Kurt and Brenda’s daughter, Jada Jo Turner took to share her emotional insight to turn heartache into hope.

Taking to her Instagram, she updated her fans after the Warner family’s 23rd annual Make-A-Wish volunteer trip in Florida. Through their First Things First foundation, they’ve spent 23 years taking kids with life-threatening illnesses to Disney World. The Warners have hosted over 179 critically ill children and their families for all-expenses-paid Disney World vacations since 2002.

However, during the volunteer trip, Jada learned about a “devastating” healthcare bill passed by the U.S. government. The bill will likely deny healthcare access to millions of Americans. President Trump signed the law on July 4, 2025, as part of his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” making sweeping cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and food assistance programs.

She lamented, “This bill will disproportionately affect people with disabilities, given that 40% of current Medicaid funding goes to people with disabilities.” The pain is both a personal and collective tragedy, as her older brother Zack received a life-altering diagnosis after a brain injury as an infant. It left him blind and developmentally disabled.  She criticizes apathy, adding, “It will never seize to break my heart the way so many people are able/choose to turn a blind eye… because it ‘doesn’t affect’ them.” She warned that this issue does affect everyone.

But, despite such changes, it was her time in Florida and L.A. that reminded her that empathy and connection are still possible through engagement in community efforts. She concludes with a hopeful note, “WE can support each other through community in ways the government never could nor will.” But, despite it all, the Warners continue to provide for society.

Together, the Warners who share 7 children have spent over two decades giving back. Besides their eldest son Zack, they are raising Jesse Jo Stanton, Kade, Jada Jo, Elijah, and twins Sierra and Sienna, each pursuing unique paths in sports, art, advocacy, and more. And, after their recent Make-A-Wish trip, even Kurt Warner had interesting insights to share.

Kurt Warner reflects on make-a-wish

We know Kurt Warner for playing 12 seasons in the NFL, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. A four-time Pro Bowler, two-time NFL MVP, and Hall of Fame inductee (2017), he is working as an NFL Network analyst after retirement. His journey from an undrafted free agent and grocery store clerk to Super Bowl champion and HoFer is regarded as one of the greatest Cinderella stories in sports. But, besides this, it is his philanthropic works that never fail to win our hearts, as it is driven by faith.

After the family’s trip to Florida this year, he took to his Twitter account to share, “Just finished our 23rd year (and probably last) of hosting @MakeAWish @HQDreamFactory families at @WaltDisneyWorld… my family’s favorite week of the year!” He counts himself blessed, as he stated in his post, adding, “It has been an incredible run & has impacted my family more than I could have imagined!” It has been incredible, indeed.

Brenda and Kurt married in 1997, and he became a devoted father to her children, Zack and Jesse. “He fell in love with my kids before he fell in love with me,” Brenda recalled. They chose a modest apartment in St. Louis to access a top school district for Zack and fought tirelessly for his development, celebrating even the smallest victories. “Even if it took an hour to eat or two hours to button his shirt, Zack did it—and that awed Kurt,” the LA Times noted in 2000. Today, Zack lives at Treasure House, a residential community for adults with developmental disabilities founded by the Warners in 2018.

Kurt and Brenda are open about their Christian faith. Brenda, a New York Times best-selling author, also speaks nationally on grief, military family life, and raising children with special needs. The 2021 film American Underdog featured their story, where Zack’s journey played a key role. Through their faith and dedication, the Warners continue to turn hardship into hope.