GULF BREEZE, Fla. (WSVN) — A little girl in north Florida has passed away after the story of her cancer battle spread across the world.
The family of 5-year-old Braylynn Lawhorn originally shared a heartbreaking photo of her with her grandfather weeping by her bedside in an effort to raise awareness of the deadly Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma tumor.
Just days after the devastating picture went viral, Braylynn passed away.
“Princess Braylynn has left us,” her mother wrote on Facebook Monday evening. “She can finally enter her kingdom. She fought so hard for so long, she exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
According to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the tumor starts in the brain stem and usually affects children between the ages of 5 and 10. Experts say the rare tumor also has a low survival rate.
“DIPG is a monster,” said Braylynn’s mother Ally Parker in a Facebook Post. “It seems as if it targets the people who have the most to lose, who are supposed to be the happiest, but also the people who are strong enough to deal with this gracefully and courageously.”
According to a GoFundMe page for the family, Braylynn was diagnosed with the tumor on Dec. 7 and was given about a year to live. However, the family said on Jan. 4 Braylynn went to the hospital feeling congested. A few days later she was placed in hospice care, unconscious and unresponsive.
That is when Braylynn’s mother Ally Parker wrote on Facebook, “In a few days I will have to bury this beautiful little girl. Months, maybe even weeks, later, I will have to bury my father. Both of my heroes, gone, within the same year…”
The accompanying photo showed little Braylynn in her hospital bed while her grandfather wept at her bedside. Parker said her father has been diagnosed with ALS, and doesn’t have much longer to live.
The family said they hope that by sharing the photo and showing their struggle with the disease, they can increase awareness of the illness.
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