Matt said, “A little boy should not have to say goodbye to his partner in crime, his playmate, his best friend, his little sister.”
The photo touched the hearts of more than 8,000 people. Now, the family wants to tell more people about this rare disease.
In 2016, the Sooter family’s life changed a lot. Doctors told them that their daughter had Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare tumor that starts in the brainstem.
Adalynn, or Addy, had to deal with the growing tumor inside her for 18 months until things got worse.
Her dad, Matt, shared on Facebook how quickly things changed for his four-year-old daughter. He said, “Addy’s symptoms have gotten worse really fast. Yesterday, she woke up as her usual playful self. But now, she can’t eat or swallow easily. She sleeps most of the time, and we had to take her to the hospital. She may not have much time left.”
In a very emotional post, Matt asked friends and family who wanted to say goodbye to reach out to them. He wanted them to have a chance to say a final farewell to their beloved daughter.
Matt also asked people to pray for Addy’s big brother, Jackson, who didn’t want to leave his sister’s side.
Shortly after Jackson said goodnight and told his little sister he loved her, she passed away.
A post on the Facebook page Hope for Addy Joy – Fighting DIPG, shared the sad news just a few hours later. The family announced that Addy had passed away peacefully, surrounded by family. They mentioned that she wasn’t in pain at the end.
Even though they say goodbye for now, they miss their baby girl a lot.
The family chose to donate Addy’s tumors (both from her brain and spine) to scientific research. They hope this will help save other children from going through the same thing.
In a Facebook post, they wrote, “Our sweet girl loved helping people and giving gifts, so we thought this would be an excellent way of showing her giving heart.”
We all know someone affected by this terrible disease, but it’s especially sad when it happens to children.
