Doctors say 9-year-old Bailey Cooper doesn’t have long to live.
Maybe it will take a few weeks, maybe even a few days. But the boy who died of cancer lived longer than expected and, against all odds, lived long enough to meet and raise his sister.
The British boy Bailey Cooper would have lived on this Earth for only nine years. But her bright smile and beautiful smile will surely be remembered for a long time.
Bailey Cooper first fell ill in 2016. What doctors initially suspected was a viral infection soon turned out to be something much more serious. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare type of cancer that develops in the body’s network of blood vessels and glands.
When doctors diagnosed Bailey, she was in stage 3. For 15 months, the boy and his family experienced ups and downs.
For a while, Bailey’s cancer was in remission. But while on a family vacation, doctors called to deliver the heartbreaking news that Bailey’s cancer had returned.
“The doctors threw the book at us and told us that even if he survived, the long-term effects would last a lifetime,” said his father, Lee. Bailey’s family and doctors did everything to save her, including a stem cell transplant. Amazingly, Bailey continued to smile during each treatment. Unfortunately, the disease turned out to be so serious that doctors determined that the nine-year-old boy with cancer only had “days or weeks” to live.
But the doctors didn’t take into account the fact that this adorable boy was determined to meet his newborn brother. Bailey’s mother, Rachel, was pregnant.
And Bailey Cooper says he’s not going anywhere until he meets his sister!
The boy with cancer lived until his wish to die came true
Doctors didn’t think Bailey would be able to fight cancer long enough to see her sister at birth. But when Rachel gave birth to her daughter in November, Bailey defied all odds and was there.
This brave boy with cancer lived long enough to meet his sister, but he was also allowed to have a name!
“The doctors said the symptoms would go away before Millie was born,” said Lee’s father. He wasn’t like that. She shot back, saying on the way to the hospital, “We should call her Millie.”
“I didn’t think he would live long, but he decided to meet Millie. Millie was born at the end of November. He hugged him and did everything a big brother would do. “I changed his clothes, washed him and sang him a song.”
Meeting her sister was something Bailey was looking forward to. He and his family knew Bailey wouldn’t make it to Christmas. But he lived long enough to get his Christmas wish. Bailey Cooper had been patient for a long time and knew it was time to go home to Heaven.
“As soon as I met him, he started to withdraw. He got away.
little boy with a big heart
Bailey knew her days were numbered. But he was not afraid of death. Instead, Bailey Cooper showed the boldness of a nine-year-old.
Bailey’s concerns were for everyone but himself. When his grandmother told him she wanted to live with him, she said, “You’re so selfish, Nan. You have grandchildren to take care of.”
While planning the funeral, Bailey said she wanted guests to wear superhero costumes. Even though Bailey’s parents, Rachel and Lee, knew their son wouldn’t live to see Christmas, they asked him to make a list of the presents he wanted.
“He knew he wasn’t going to be here for Christmas, but we tried to get him to write a Christmas list. “He said he didn’t want to, but we encouraged him,” Rachel said.
Bailey’s Christmas dream was to meet her sister Millie. But he obliged his parents and made a list of several additional requests. But once again, the generous spirit of this amazing young man was revealed!
When Bailey’s parents looked through their dying son’s gift list, they couldn’t help but notice something surprising. None of this is for him!
“Most of the things he asked for were things I’d never played before,” Lee explained. “They deserved more than his little brother. “He chose everything for Riley because he knew he wasn’t going to play with him.”
Bailey has already received compensation. He lived long enough to meet Millie.
Bailey Cooper smiled brightly the day before she died as she proudly held her big brother Millie in her arms. He was smiling even during cancer treatment. “Bailey laughed,” Lee recalled. “Even though he was in so much pain, he made funny faces and made people laugh.”
time to go home
On Christmas Eve, surrounded by family, Bailey finally recovered. He went home to be with the Lord.
“I was at his bedside at 11:45 on Christmas Eve. I knew it wouldn’t last long. I said, “It’s time to go, Bailey. Stop.” Rachel explained. The moment she said “Stop” she took her last breath and only one tear fell from her eye. “It was peaceful.”
Even in his final moments, this sweet boy’s thoughts were on others. Bailey’s stern instructions to heartbroken parents were:
“You can only cry for 20 minutes. You have to take care of Riley and Millie.
And the sweet boy has already made plans to take care of his little sister once she gets to heaven.
“I want to stay, but now it’s time for me to go and be his guardian angel,” Bailey Cooper explained with the wisdom of a 9-year-old. Hundreds of people came to the service dressed as superheroes in honor of Bailey Cooper. Although he only spent nine years on Earth, the cancer-stricken genius lived long enough to make a profound impact on the world around him. Lee’s father said: “We are paralyzed, but we are lucky that our child is no longer in pain.” “The hardest part is living without him,” Rachel added.
Our hearts and prayers go out to this grieving family. May they find comfort in the fact that their sweet child is now recovered and waiting in heaven.
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