Going through the loss of a family member is not easy, but to go through multiple losses at the same time is even more gut-wrenching. This Florida mom did not just have to bid farewell to her beloved daughter, but another person close to her heart was living through their last days as well.
Keep reading to know more about the details behind this gutwrenching photo.
Allyson Parker, a Florida mom, had to watch the most heartbreaking events unfold in front of her at the same time: losing her daughter and father at the same time. Just days before her daughter Braylynn Parker’s fifth birthday, the family was given some devastating news: she had brain cancer and did not have much time left. Doctors were unable to operate on her diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas tumor, and told the family that chemotherapy was not a viable option either.
The only option they had was radiation to slow the growth. A month later, the little girl’s condition took a turn for the worse, and this is when her mom, Allyson, took a picture that haunted many people.
After the family celebrated Christmas with little Braylynn, she was brought back to the hospital in the first week of January because of congestion. Doctors thought the little girl’s tumor might have a bleed and as her condition rapidly declined, the doctors had no choice but to give the family some heartbreaking news.
Her mother recalled the terrible moment, “Went downstairs to Starbucks…came back…doctor told us my little baby is basically braindead. She was responsive just a few hours ago…I don’t understand.”
“The doctor who originally gave us the 24-48 hour timeline just came back. She has realized that Braylynn is NOT like most kids. We no longer have the 48 hour maximum timeline, or even one at all really. She is still winning, she can still beat this.”
The mother then took the heartbreaking picture which went viral. In the picture, her daughter Braylynn lay attacked to tubes on a hospital bed while her grandfather Sean, sat next to her with a look of pain on his face. Sean had previously been diagnosed with ALS; a terminal condition. While doctors did not think Sean would outlive his granddaughter, he was next to her in what everyone thought were her last few hours.
“These two are the strongest people I have ever known. Everyone related to us would agree. We all thought that they would outlive the rest of us… and we certainly never thought that my precious little Braylynn would be the first to go,” Allyson wrote on Facebook. “Why her…Murderers deserve death sentences, NOT babies.”
“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,” Ally shared on Facebook. “Both of my heroes, gone, within the same year…How could this happen to us? What did any of us do to deserve THIS? Why do they have to leave us? What are we supposed to do? I refuse to believe that there is a reason for this. This world is a terrible place.”
“The nurse who told us earlier that Braylynn’s heart would stop in an hour or two was WRONG. It has been SIX HOURS since then. That nurse was not supposed to give a timeline at all, and her pulse was never faint,” Ally added as an update to the photo she posted of her little girl.
“She was mad because the administration is letting us keep her on the ventilator for as long as we want, so that everyone who is coming here can get here. We will let her go tomorrow after everyone has had the chance to see her one more time.”
But as Braylynn’s heart kept on beating strongly, they decided not to remove her from the ventilator. “We are leaving her on the ventilator until all of the funeral arrangements are made. It may take a few days, because everything is going to be PERFECT for her big day,” her mother wrote. “Until then, she is still with us, still fighting, still strong.”
The emotional mother had a request for other parents that she made in another post. She said, “Everyone please kiss your babies for me tonight and hold them tight…Please don’t take them for granted….Cherish every second you have with them, you may not have as many as you think…”
“I PROMISE YOU, you do not want to feel this feeling, and if you know this feeling… please, tell me how you deal with this, because I am absolutely clueless…” she went on.
Even after hospital staff and doctors told them that the little girl will not make it, the family still held out hope for a miracle. “Not only is Braylynn inspiring people all over the WORLD…earlier today, I spoke with some of the social workers for hospice…They are not willing to give up on her,” her mother wrote.
“Tomorrow, we are having a family meeting which will include the social workers and a doctor whom I have not met. This doctor… is wanting to get Braylynn treatment. He believes she still has a chance. FINALLY, A DOCTOR WHO WANTS TO HELP US!,” the young mother rejoiced.
“The possibility of her death is still very likely, but once again, we have been shown a glimmer of hope,” she went on. “I couldn’t be more proud of my Braylynn, she’s always been a tough kid but I severely underestimated her strength. I will never make that mistake again.”
Braylynn fought till the very end but to the devastation of her family passed away on January 15, 2018. Her grandfather Sean passed away from ALS in the same year. Her mother now advocated for cancer awareness.
READ MORE
This is such a heartbreaking story. We are sending the family our best wishes. It cannot be easy to lose two members so close to one another.
