A brave little boy whose battle against cancer touched people across the world has passed away in his parents’ arms.
Over two years after first being diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a very rare cancerous tumor that starts in the liver and primarily affects children from infancy to about 3 years of age – Charlie Proctor, a boy from a village in Lancashire, England, passed away after telling his mum ‘I’m sorry for this’.
His mom is keeping his memory alive by sharing the touching story of their last moments together. The 5-year-old boy’s mother, Amber Schofield, shared an emotional note on Facebook that Charlie passed away in his sleep “cuddled in my arms with daddy’s arms wrapped around us.”
Alongside the heartbreaking note, Schofield shared a happy family photo of herself and her husband Ben with their son.
Charlie’s courageous fight against the d|sease captured the heart of the country including US superstar Pink. The couple had raised £360,000 for life-saving treatment in America but last month, the family was told that Charlie had become too ill to travel for the treatment.
Devastated Amber said Charlie was her best friend and biggest inspiration and the world had lost an “incredible little boy”.
“You have been not only our biggest inspiration but you have been an inspiration to thousands of people all over the world. You showed me what love really means Charlie,” she added. “Now it’s time to fly, I am so, so proud of you. You fought this so hard. My baby, I’m hurting so much. I will forever miss you baby bum. Sweet dreams.”
Just one day earlier, in a message that was dated just hours before his son’s death, Amber shared that Charlie’s health was getting worse. She posted a heartbreaking final picture of him and said:
“This will be the last photo I post of Charlie. As the days go by he deteriorates more and more. He no longer looks like Charlie. I want everyone to remember Charlie for who he is. I want them to remember how he looked, how cheeky he was, how hilarious, how grumpy he was because right now Charlie isn’t any of those.”
Thousands paid tribute to Charlie in the days following his death, including staff at his favourite football club. Posting on Twitter, a spokesman for the club said:
“Such devastating news to hear of the passing of Charlie Procter. All our thoughts at Accrington Stanley Football Club are with Charlie’s family.”
source: westernjournal