Father captures heartbreaking moment as 6-year-old boy comforts dying younger sister holding him
A child shouldn’t have to deal with tragic loss at a young age, learning a lesson that even adults shy away from. But a young boy of six recently had to learn to do just that when he said goodbye to his 4-year-old sister, who had a brain tumor. His father was able to capture the beautifully heartbreaking moment for posterity and share it with the world.
Jackson Sooter, 6, said goodbye to Adalynn Sooter, 4, who died on June 3, 2018 in Arkansas. The big brother stayed by her bedside until her last moment and was seen stroking her hair gently until she said her farewell to the world. His father Matt Sooter shared the gut-wrenching photo on Facebook with a message that is also beautifully poignant.
“A little boy should not have to say goodbye to his partner in crime, his playmate, his best friend, his little sister,” Matt said in a Facebook post. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. But this is the broken world we live in.” Jackson can be seen brushing Adalynn’s head as the little girl holds on to his left arm.
“Addy’s symptoms have progressed rapidly over the past day and a half. Yesterday she woke up as her spunky playful self. While we still see short instances of our girl she can no longer eat or swallow without difficulty and she’s sleeping most of the time now and we’ve admitted her into inpatient care. Most likely she doesn’t have much time left,” Matt had continued in the post, asking those who loved her to come forward and say their farewells.
“For our family and close friends if you feel you need to tell her goodbye we recommend you contact us and do so soon. Pray for Jackson. He doesn’t want to leave her side and we won’t make him. Pray for us. That we have the right words and can make the necessary arrangements in time,” he added.
The father concluded by saying, “Always remember: God is in this situation, He’s up to something, and He’s up to something GOOD.”
Addy was diagnosed 18 months before she died and the doctors had only given her 2 months but she fought that and lived longer than expected.
Days after her demise, Matt spoke to People and said, “It was a sweet moment, but not unexpected. Jackson has always been great with her and took very good care of her. He’s still a happy little boy, but he misses her.”
In another Facebook post, he informed everyone that Addy passed away at 1.04 am on June 3 and she was in no pain at the end. He said that her passing away happened faster than expected but it was a “blessing” because she suffered very little.
“Thank you for being a part of our little girl’s miracle. While this is only goodbye, for now, we miss our baby girl terribly,” the father said.
She was diagnosed in November 2016, and she had initially reacted to treatment as her tumors began to shrink in size. In May, Matt told People that Addy’s survival was “purely incidental”.