Our heart goes out to Ashley Stock, who is mourning the death of her 3-year-old daughter Stevie following a devastating battle with brain cancer.
The social media influencer took to Instagram and revealed her youngest child had passed away on Wednesday, May 27, just one month after she was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) — a rare brain tumor with a zero percent survival rate. And now, the California-based blogger is sadly living through every mother’s worst nightmare…
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Sharing the heartbreaking news with followers, Stock wrote:
“At 1:05pm on May 27th, Stevie took her final breath in our arms. There have been many miracles and countless God moments that I’ll put into words when my heart has strength. For now, I’m overwhelmed with relief that she’s at peace but I’m also feeling crushed by a pain so intense i can’t put it into words.”
She continued describing how their family is trying to make sense of the painful loss of their “blue-eyed, dimpled smile, curly-haired forever baby girl,” who was an adored little sister, daughter, and friend:
“We have complete faith in there being a greater purpose of this tragedy (and it’s already unfolding through your stories of renewed hope), but unfortunately, faith is not a ‘get out of pain free’ card, and that’s okay. I don’t know how to do this, so for now we’ll continue one day at a time held by the grace of God, the support of loved ones and the prayers of strangers who have become friends.”
Stock completed the post with a somber photo of Stevie’s hand, along with two videos of her during happier times, as seen (below):
Ugh, how incredibly sad…
As we touched on earlier, this tragedy comes just a little over a month since doctors at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles diagnosed the toddler with a rare brain tumor. Ashley and her husband Ben admitted Stevie for treatment back in April when they noticed her “rapidly declining motor function” and later, they would go on to meet with “dozens of the top pediatric neurologists, neurosurgeons and oncologists” for additional opinions on the terminal illness. Ultimately, their family decided the 3-year-old would spend as much of her time left in this world at home surrounded by loved ones.
We can’t imagine how painful this ordeal must be, just two weeks after the couple and their two sons, 10-year-old Wesley and 7-year-old Sawyer, all celebrated Stevie’s last birthday together on May 15. At the time, the proud momma penned a loving tribute which read in part:
“Between the pain, she smiles and giggles and admires her glitter fingernails and asks for us to bring her more surprises and blueberry muffins. Her verbal communication abilities are declining more each day but the way she communicates with her eyes holds a wisdom and a knowing far beyond my own. She doesn’t know what’s happening, but she KNOWS what’s happening. And she is brave as hell. And strong. And gracious.”
Wow. We can only hope this final bittersweet memory together can provide some sort of comfort during this unimaginably difficult time. Join us in remembering this young sweet soul by scrolling through these beautiful shots here:
R.I.P., Stevie.
[Image via Ashley Stock/Instagram]
The post Influencer Ashley Stock’s 3-Year-Old Daughter Dies After Devastating Battle With Brain Cancer appeared first on Perez Hilton.