The heartbreaking moment a 6-year-old boy bid goodnight to his younger sister was captured on camera and is tearing people’s hearts everywhere.
Adalynn “Addy” Sooter, 4, of Arkansas, was photographed by her father Matt Sooter. Addy was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer at the age of four.
A young boy shouldn’t have to say goodbye to his playmate, best friend, or younger sister, Matt wrote.
The heartbreaking image garnered more than 8,000 reactions. The parents are now trying to spread awareness of this uncommon illness.
When the Sooter family learned that their daughter had diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a rare tumor with a brainstem origin, in November 2016, their world was flipped upside down.
For the next 18 months, Addy would have to put up with the tumor’s growth before her symptoms got worse.
In a Facebook post, Matt described how his four-year-old daughter had rapidly deteriorated.
“Over the past day and a half, Addy’s symptoms have advanced quickly. She was her lively, jovial self when she got up yesterday. Although we occasionally still visit our baby, she is no longer able to eat or swallow without difficulty, and she now spends much of her time asleep, so we have admitted her to inpatient care. She likely has a limited amount of time remaining.
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Sweet girl loved to assist others.
Only a few hours later, the family posted on the Facebook page Hope for Addy Joy – Fighting DIPG that their daughter had passed away.
She transitioned from this life to the next in exactly the same way she had lived—stubbornly, yet calmly and in the company of her loved ones. At the conclusion, she wasn’t in any agony, it said.
“While this is only a temporary farewell, our baby girl is greatly missed,”
The tumors from Addy’s brain and spine were donated to science in the “hopes of preventing future children from a similar fate.”
They explained their decision in a Facebook post, saying, “Our sweet girl loved helping people and giving gifts so we thought this would be an excellent way to show her giving heart.”
We all know someone who has been affected by this awful disease but it’s particularly upsetting when it affects children.
Rest in peace little angel Addy.
