Life

Cancer-Stricken Mom Writes Letters To Her Daughter

by Kat George

Get out the tissues, because by the end of this post you're probably going to need them. Mother Heather McManamy is dying of cancer, and is spending her remaining time on earth writing cards for her 3-year-old daughter Brianna to open on her big life milestones. Heather is 35 years old and has metastatic breast cancer, and in her Instagram bio says she is "Hanging out with Brianna and kicking cancer's ass in my spare time."

Heather was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013, but it wasn't until August 2014 that she was diagnosed as terminal, and started seriously thinking about what it would be like for her daughter and family without her, and what kind of legacy she would leave. Since then, Heather has written forty letters for her daughter filled with advice, jokes, congratulations and a reminder of her deep and unconditional love. It's the best possible way to move one's own daughter to tears at all her important life milestones. Heather told ABC News, “I did them from when she's older or younger — random encouragement, bad day, wedding, driver license, even first breakup. Every one of these that I get to hand out in person will be an accomplishment.” I'm starting to get foggy just writing this, so I'll leave the video to explain the rest to you:

If you've been totally moved by this, Heather and her family have started a GoFundMe account to help pay for medical bills and life expenses, including inevitable funeral fees. As of writing, the account has raised $29,290. To celebrate Heather and Brianna, here are some adorable pictures of the beautiful mother and daughter pair from Instagram:

1. Going to princess brunch

2. Skipping stones

3. At a cancer awareness run

4. Partying

5. Taking selfies

6. At Disneyland

Images: Pexels