Sorry to do this to you Folks but on this the last day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month we need to impress upon you that Childhood Cancer is not easy, Childhood Cancer does not only last for 30 days, and too often Childhood Cancer wins the battle…
THIS is what too many parents have to go through… watching their child battle an enemy over which they have no control and against which they cannot protect them; sometimes over and over… for years on end… a battle they sometimes lose…
There is NO CURE for Cancer; being in remission does not necessarily mean the end of the battle… as much as we do not want to think about it; death is too often a reality of Childhood Cancer.
THIS is why Childhood Cancer Awareness is so important, and why organisations like the Little Fighters Cancer Trust are forever looking for funding; to distribute Early Warning Signs of Childhood Cancer, to help our Little Fighters and their families with the trauma they go through physically, psychologically, physiologically, financially, and emotionally… in any which way we can.
Lindsey Lourenco died on March 14, 2013 after a six-year battle with leukemia. Lindsey first found out that she had cancer when she was 12-years old. She had countless rounds of chemotherapy and went into remission four times before passing away at the young age of 18.
Her father, Tony Lourenco, recorded her mother singing to Lindsey as she was dying in the hospital.
He wrote about his daughter in a blog:
“My 18-year-old daughter, Lindsey Lourenco, has been battling Leukemia for almost 6 years. Five times this cancer has ravaged our child and after years of chemotherapy, radiation, a bone marrow transplant, and a lot of prayers, her days are literally numbered. She has been unconscious for almost a week now, her pain mostly under control and her comfort our only concern.
To celebrate Lindsey’s 1-year transplant date in 2011, my wife, Darlene, wrote Lindsey a song. She has sung it only once at our daughter’s celebration and it was an emotional performance.
Last night I came into Lindsey’s hospital room to find Darlene strumming a borrowed guitar and singing to our little girl. She wanted Lindsey to hear her song one more time and I felt compelled to pick up my phone and record it.
I truly believe that even though Lindsey is in a coma, she can hear her mother singing and feel the love all around her. I can’t help but think that even in the most difficult and painful time of our lives, there are moments of beauty and powerful, unconditional love.
An unedited, unrehearsed, completely raw, and shaky recording of a mother singing to her dying daughter, my precious daughter, Lindsey: Love you forever, baby girl.”
Watch the heartbreaking video of Darlene’s song below: *Tissue Alert*
(This is the original but with the words added; the words Darlene wrote to her daughter are so beautiful and attest to what is true of every Little Fighter… their strength!)
