A 9-year-old boy with terminal cancer stayed alive to meet newborn sister: “He managed to hang on”

Bailey Cooper, 9, suffered a remission of lymphoma in 2017 just when his mother, Rachel Cooper, learned she was pregnant. The prognosis for the child wasn't looking well and they were informed that he won't be able to fight the ailment the second time. However, Bradley was determined to live long enough to meet his baby sister, reports RelRules. Bailey was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2016 and after a series of treatments, the doctors were sure that he would survive. However, he had a relapse but was completely elated when he heard the news of his baby sister, reports New York Post.

His mother told PEOPLE, "When we told him, it completely lifted him. He was completely over the moon." Bailey did not even give up when he learned from his parents in August od that year that he wouldn't survive. His father, Lee Copper said, "All he was concerned about was meeting his little sister. Bailey knew something wasn’t right. He could feel it in himself." He added, "We got told the news late August that he wasn’t going to survive. We were told it was days to weeks. We were very open with him. He was taking it in … He was thinking, ‘Oh no, I won’t meet my sister.’ " Bailey told his family from Bristol, UK, that he'd try his hardest to stay alive until he meets his sister whom he named Millie.

His father described the excitement he held even while battling a terminal illness, He said, "He was amazing. He was adamant on being around Rachel. He’d always be cuddling her, trying to listen to the baby in her tummy. He’d sing to her. He was just anticipating meeting her." He added, "He’d read stories while resting his head on her tummy. He’d sing just so the baby would be familiar with his voice.” Bailey's determination to fight to stay alive for his sister was successful as Millie was born on November 30, 2017, and he was completely "smitten" by her.

Lee said of Bailey, "He just managed to hang on, basically. How he did it, we don’t know." He further said, "He’d come into the hospital, he sat down. He was getting quite frail, but he’d come straight in as quick as he could, shuffling his feet. We had to pass Millie to him. He just sat in the chair with Millie in his arms and he wouldn’t let her go." The boy spent the last moments of his life with his sister, giving her all the love he could. Lee said, "The short time he was with her, he would hold her every day. He’d be by her side. He fed her. He bathed her. He changed her. He sang to her every day until he physically couldn’t do it anymore.” Bailey died on Christmas Eve in 2017 with his family by his side.

Losing their 9-year-old has been completely hard for both parents. Lee spoke about how they dealt with this loss, "It’s been really hard without Bailey. It’s been wonderful having Millie around. She’s been helping us deal with what’s happened. It was so hard for [Rachel], her daily routine had completely changed without him." He added, "[I miss his] presence, his cheeky banter, his jokes, the laugh, his company. It’s such a difficult time, but at the same time, you look back and we were lucky to have nine-and-a-half great years with him." However, the parents are determined to tell Millie and their son Riley, now 7, all about their elder brother.

They want to make sure that Millie never forgets anything about Bailey. Lee said, "We tell her about Bailey every day. We show her pictures of him. We’ve got pictures around the house of Bailey. Every time we mention Bailey’s name she points up at a picture." He added, "She knows who he is already. Her face lights up every time she sees a picture of Bailey on our phones. We show her videos. There’s no way she’s ever not going to know who he is. We talk about him every day."