It’s one of life’s ultimate injustices: a child having to endure a terminal illness; a child who doesn’t understand why they are in pain and always in hospital while their parents prepare themselves for the horror that lies ahead.
Blogger Ashley Stock, who runs Little Miss Momma, has 350,000 Instagram followers and is appreciated by people for her openness about parenting, autism and her own anxiety issues.
Her daughter Stevie was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on her brain when she was just 2 years old. Her and her husband Ben grappled with questions of why them.
In April, the family got horrific news when COVID-19 restrictions meant only one parent could visit Stevie at a time.
Mom Ashley decided to stay at hospital with Stevie while her husband held the fort at home looking after their two sons.
Two days after she had received the heartbreaking news she revealed on Instagram that her daughter was suffering from a rare cancer and had 0 percent chance of survival.
“My stomach sank as I accepted the box of tissues handed to me and they delivered the news that our sweet baby girl has a large mass on her brain,” she wrote on Instagram.
Stevie stayed in hospital before her parents decided they wanted to take her home where she would be surrounded by love and all that is familiar to her.
On May 15th the family decided to celebrate Stevie’s birthday early and describes how her little girl would go from being in extreme pain to squealing in delight at her glittery nails.
“Today she gets flush with pain and grabs her head and closes her eyes with a grimace. Today she has seizures and tremors and lethargy. Between the pain, she smiles and giggles and admires her glitter fingernails and asks for us to bring her more surprises and blueberry muffins,” Ashley wrote on Instagram.
Toward the end Stevie’s verbal communication and motor skills began to diminish and on May 27 before she finally passed, Ashley revealed that she was breathing but unresponsive.
When Stevie passed Ashley wrote how relieved she was that she was no longer in pain but “feeling crushed by a pain so intense i can’t put it into words.”
She wrote: “Seed Planter. Miracle Maker. Light Giver. Heart Healer. Blue eyed, dimpled smile, curly haired forever baby girl. Adored little sister, daughter and friend. At 1:05pm on May 27th, Stevie took her final breath in our arms.”
I cannot begin to imagine the pain this family is enduring, losing a baby before they’ve even had a chance to experience all the great wonders of life is a tragedy. Rest in peace little one.
Our hearts go out to Ashley and Ben and their boys. Please share to send strength and support to this family.
