The mother who posted a heartbreaking photo of her five-year-old daughter’s final moments before she passed away from c-a-n-c-e-r is opening up about the decision to share it.
Little girl Zoey Catherine Daggett was born as a perfectly healthy child. Her vibrant personality made everyone love her, and her smiling face would always trigger even more smiles at people who ever met her.
The little girl didn’t lose any of her energetic spirit even during the worst times of her short life. One day, as Zoey’s family was at a playground in Fairport, New York, Zoey fell. Suddenly, she experienced difficulties walking and started limping. Her mom and dad, Casey and Ben, rushed her to the hospital because they both assumed she had a fracture. Unfortunately, the two received bad news that their daughter had DIPG, a rare and aggressive brain t.u.m.o.r which wasn’t operable.
The parents were told that children suffering from this type of tumor are given between 6 to 18 months to live.
”We didn’t know what to do, where to go. We were told it’s pretty much a death sentence,” mother Casey told Daily Mail.
In spite of the pain that filled their hearts, Ben and Casey decided to make their daughter’s last days fun. The couple spent every minute of every day by her side because they knew she won’t be around much longer.
Zoey had to to undergo a number of treatments. When the family learned of a hospital in Germany which offers radiation to people with DIPG, they took her there. The money needed were raised in no time, and Zoey seemed to respond good to the therapy. But then, all of a sudden, she started feeling even worse than before and then Zoey passed away on July 4, 2018.
Casey decided to share plenty of photos of her daughter on her Facebook page. She had seen other people who lost children do that, and although she believed she should keep those memories for herself, she still decided to share her daughter’s story. Casey told Daily Mail:
“I shared it because even though it’s a painful moment, it’s a beautiful moment in our eyes,”
”I had seen a handful of families sharing moments and originally I didn’t think I was going to share it. ‘But I thought: “I want a photo like that taken”. I want those moments captured so I can remember them forever even when my brain is gone.”
The photo Casey posted shows mom and dad with their arms around their precious daughter.
They spent that last day singing Disney songs and watching Harry Potter movies. But then, in the middle of the film, Zoey’s little heart stopped beating.
The family started the Facebook page Zoey’s Light because they wanted to spread the love, hope, and light Zoey gave to everyone who was part of her life.
References: boreddaddy.com, dailymail.co.uk
