Cancer truly is an unspeakably awful disease. From the moment one learns about a diagnosis to the grueling treatments and the idea of saying goodbye to your loved ones.
As a parent, it’s especially difficult to see young children fighting against this horrible disease. Put simply, it’s enough to break even the hardest of hearts.
When I look at pictures of Delaney Krings, it’s hard to understand why a young girl and her family should be forced to go through something so horrible.
Delaney Krings of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in October 2022. Delaney was only four years old when her family got the terrible news.
According to the Facebook page For The Love of Delaney, the family’s nightmare started when Delaney sought medical attention for something as simple as an earache. Her parents, Heather and Jack, took her to her pediatrician, who diagnosed the young girl with an ear infection and thereafter treated her.
Delaney’s condition initially appeared to improve, but there remained other signs that something wasn’t alright – including a loss of balance, for example.
Her parents began to believe that their daughter was suffering from something serious, and trusted their gut feeling. They took her to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, where doctors ran a series of tests to ascertain what was wrong with the 4-year-old.
Not long after that, Heather and Jack’s beautiful little girl was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor, a diffuse midline glioma known as DMG. It was terminal.
“Your heart stops for a minute. The world stops. You can’t breathe, you just try to process it. She’s four, you know?” Heather said.
Delaney was given just six to eight weeks to live, and her story could have ended there. Instead, her health battle gained worldwide attention when her family wanted to do everything in their power to ensure she had the most special birthday possible.
”The type of cancer she has, DMG, has very little positive response to any current treatment available,” Heather wrote in a CaringBridge post.
”In addition to the severity and size of her tumor when it was first found basically sealed her fate just 12 short weeks ago. I have read medical textbooks, research papers, etc., etc., etc. for months and have found very little hope in any of them.”
On December 16, Delaney celebrated her 5th birthday. All those in attendance knew it was going to be her last one. Her family aimed to give her a special celebration and asked for birthday cards to be sent from all over the world.
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