Nurse Captures Tear-Jerking Photo Of A Daughter Dying In Daddy's Arms

Jul 25, 2018 by apost team

5-year-old Zoey Catherine Daggett bravely fought a rare and fatal brain tumor for 2 years of her short life. On July 4, Zoey's battle ended. She got to spend her last day in the comfort of her home, and she passed away while being held by her father.

Casey and Ben Daggett had been dreading this day as soon as they realized that Zoey could not beat her cancer. Her parents knew that they could lose Zoey any day, but the 2 years they had to prepare for their loss was not enough.

No amount of time could ever prepare a parent for losing their child.

Casey and Ben were worried about Zoey the day she fell at the park and couldn't stop stumbling around. One week later, Zoey had begun to lose function of her hand. After they rushed Zoey to the hospital, they experienced every parent's worst nightmare. Zoey was diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma tumor. This terrible form of brain cancer only affects children aged 4 to 10 and only 1% can survive.

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With these bleak statistics, Casey and Ben set out to make their daughter's life a dream for as long as she continued living. They desperately took Zoey to every specialist, even traveling as far as Germany for a chance to cure her cancer. Zoey was encouraged to write her own bucket list, and she couldn't have been happier with each item she was able to check off. Zoey hung out with Disney princesses, became a cheerleader, and went to camps just like any other kid.

Casey loved showing Zoey how beautiful the world is. “We made sure that she saw everything that she wanted to see because she wasn’t going to be able to when she got older," she said. By the end of June, Zoey's health took a rapid decline. Her parents knew their days were counting down to the seconds.

On July 4, Zoey's nurse snapped a picture of the family snuggling on the couch. They were playing one of Zoey's favorite movies, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Zoey took her last breaths in her father's arms halfway through the movie. 

Although her parents are devastated, they promise to keep her light alive. “Zoey is going to be shared with the world,” her mom wrote as a caption to their final picture together. ”

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