UPDATE: The Little Girl Whose Photo With Her Distraught Grandfather Went Viral Has Died
UPDATE, 1/16/2018: On Monday night, Braylynn's family posted the sad news of her passing on the Facebook page Braylynn's Battalion. "Our sweet Braylynn, our warrior princess, earned her sparkly pink angel wings this evening," the post reads. "Her nickname was Princess Bel and she could light up any room. She loved Hello Kitty and her birthday was December 10. She was a princess with the strength of a warrior and she will NEVER be forgotten. We need this cruel disease called DIPG to stop taking our children away from us!"
During her last days, her loved ones dressed her as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and gathered around her bed to say their goodbyes. "We will cherish these photos of our warrior princess for our lifetime," the post on her page reads.
ORIGINAL, 1/12/2018: Before this December, Braylynn Lawhon was a 4-year-old without a care in the world. But just last month she received a diagnosis that meant she may not have much more time left. People reports that Braylynn, now 5, was diagnosed with a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma tumor, and a photo of her grandfather weeping at her hospital bedside has sparked an outpouring of support for her and her family.
Braylynn's brain tumor, located at the base of her brain, is very aggressive and tough to treat. DIPG tumors make up 10 to 20% of childhood brain tumors, and are most common in children between the ages of 5 and 10. The survival rates are very low, according to St. Jude.
She's now in hospice care in Pensacola, Florida, and a photo taken when her grandfather came to visit shows just how destructive cancer can be to a family. Sean Peterson, 49, suffers from both ALS. When he sat down next to his granddaughter, he showed the anguish and grief that any grandfather would feel in that situation.
Update... Princess Braylynn is still with us.Her pulse is barely there and we can not feel it, but we can hear it...
Posted by Ally Parker on Sunday, January 7, 2018
"They wheeled him in to see Braylynn. He can no longer speak, he can't move his hands and he has a feeding tube," Beth Peterson-Hickman, Braylynn's grandmother, told People. "When he saw her, he was crying and it was heart-wrenching. I broke down and I had to turn around."
The family posted an update on their Facebook page, Braylynn's Battalion, in response to their story going viral. "Braylynn and our family can feel your love and prayers coming in from all over the world," they wrote. "At this time, we want to spend every moment with our precious warrior princess."
Braylynn's aunt has set up a fundraising page on GoFundMe to raise money for Braylynn's medical care. "Braylynn is a happy, smart, enjoyable four year old who will be five on Sunday. She hasn't had the chance to live her life yet and we are asking for your help to in order to give her the best possible chance," the page reads. The campaign has raised more than $61,000 so far.
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