The girl from a viral photo that showed her with her sick grandfather has passed away, according to the family.
Braylynn Lawhon, 5, died from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a highly aggressive type of brain tumor, her family said in an announcement on Monday.
A photo of Braylynn and grandfather Sean Peterson, who is suffering from ALS, was posted on social media before it was heavily shared.
The photo was apparently taken by Braylynn’s mother, Ally Parker.
She wrote: “In a few days I will have to bury this beautiful little girl. Months, maybe even weeks, later, I will have to bury my father.”
“They wheeled him in to see Braylynn. He can no longer speak, he can’t move his hands and he has a feeding tube,” Peterson-Hickman added. “When he saw her, he was crying and it was heart-wrenching. I broke down and I had to turn around.”
The family is now making funeral arrangements for the girl.
“Approximately 300 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with DIPG each year. While DIPGs are usually diagnosed when children are between the ages of 5 and 9, they can occur at any age in childhood. These tumors occur in boys and girls equally and do not generally appear in adults,” the website said.
