Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects blood and bone marrow.
A 10-year-old girl from the United States who dreamed of being married has tied the knot with her childhood sweetheart just days before dying of leukaemia. According to New York Post, Emma Edwards and Daniel Marshall Christopher "DJ" Williams got married at a big celebration on June 29 - just 12 days before the 10-year-old passed away.
Emma was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in April last year but her parents, Alina and Aaron Edwards, said that they were hopeful that she'd be able to beat the illness. However, in June the family were given the heartbreaking news that Emma's cancer was incurable and she only had days to live, the outlet reported citing Kennedy News Media.
"We were going for another kind of treatment, and they told us that she probably had days to a week, not weeks" to live, Ms Alina said.
"We didn't expect to hear that at all. We thought we were going for another kind of treatment and it would work. It was like a gut punch. You never imagine them saying they can't do anything else for her," she added.
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After receiving the sad news, Ms Alina and DJ's mother sprang into action, making plans for a mock "wedding". "It had to happen super fast. We threw it together in less than two days; everything ended up being donated," Ms Alina said of the wedding, which was a garden ceremony with some 100 guests in attendance.
"It was so precious, and it came together so well. Her dad gets to say he gave her away. A friend of ours officiated, a friend read a verse from the Bible, and her best friend was maid of honour," she added.
Ms Alina also praised her new son-in-law. "DJ is the sweetest soul you'll ever meet. He has a heart of gold and he really loves Emma," she said.
Further, Alina Edward revealed that Emma seemed to be a healthy child until they took her to hospital because she fell over and medics discovered the cancer in the bones in her legs in April 2022. However, she said that the doctors advised that the cancer was "common" in children and was likely to be curable. But sadly that wasn't true for Emma.
For the unversed, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. According to the Mayo Clinic, it progresses quickly and aggressively and requires immediate treatment. Both adults and children can be affected.