There is no greater sadness than the loss of a child. That kind of anguish is unlike any other, and it regrettably never goes away.
Many people are heartbroken when they learn that their children have a condition or disease, and fighting the battle against those illnesses can be difficult and exhausting, but as long as parents believe there is hope for their child’s recovery, they will never give up.
Adalynn «Addy» Sooter was four years old when she was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare brain stem tumor. Unfortunately, the odds were bleak, and the family was warned to brace themselves for the worst.
Addy’s health dramatically deteriorated after 18 months as the illness progressed. «Addy’s symptoms have progressed rapidly over the past day and a half,» said her father Matt, who launched a Facebook page to track his young girl’s struggle. She awoke yesterday as her feisty, playful self. While we still visit our baby on occasion, she can no longer eat or swallow without trouble, and she is now sleeping most of the time, so we have admitted her to inpatient care. She probably doesn’t have much time left.»
Matt also requested that relatives and friends pray for his son Jackson, who was having a difficult time dealing with his sister’s condition. «A little boy should not have to say goodbye to his partner in crime, playmate, best friend, or little sister,» Matt wrote.
Jackson was seldom far from his sister’s side. He remained by her side till the bitter end. Addy died one night, just as he was saying goodbye to his younger sister and reminding her how much he loved her.Devastated Mark broke the devastating news on Addy’s Facebook page.
She passed from this life to the next in the same way she had lived—stubbornly but peacefully, with family by her side. «At the end, she was not in any pain,» the message stated. «While this is only a temporary goodbye, we miss our baby girl tremendously.In the «hopes of saving future children from a similar fate,» Addy’s tumors, both brain and spine, were given to scientific study.
«Our sweet girl loved helping people and giving gifts, so we thought this would be an excellent way of showing her giving heart,» they explained on Facebook.
The loss of this family deeply saddens us. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.