Third tragedy for dad who lost pregnant wife and daughter
A heartbroken dad has expressed the grief of losing his young daughter to cancer six years after his pregnant wife unexpectedly died, with their baby not surviving more than a few hours.
Ten-year-old Lucy Moroney, who had been diagnosed with a rare and untreatable brain tumour in July last year, had been undergoing experimental treatment in Mexico to beat the cancer.
The devastating diagnosis came five years after the little girl’s mother Nicola, 33, suffered a fatal heart attack due to an undiagnosed heart condition. She was 24-weeks pregnant with her third daughter Ruby, who entered the world via emergency cesarean but died 14 hours later.
Lucy had been showing signs of progress, but her condition took a turn for the worst and she could no longer swallow fluids and lost the ability to walk unaided. She sadly lost her fight on Friday evening.
Her distraught father Joe shared the tragic news on the Facebook page he set up to raise funds for her treatment.
“Lucy, when you were born almost 11 years ago Mummy and I (mainly Mummy) chose your name, knowing the meaning of it was light. Your light burnt very brightly, my darling,” the father from Heswall, Merseyside in the UK, wrote on Saturday.
“Having witnessed Mummy and your sister Ruby take their last breaths six years ago, it was traumatic and heart-breaking once again to witness you do the same, even with nearly 16 months advanced warning.
“But as painful as it was to experience, I wouldn’t have chosen to be anywhere else my gorgeous baby. You were a dream daughter, absolute perfection.
“You were as good as gold, so caring, beautiful and with the most pure heart. You must have got that from your Mummy.”
The devastating loss was the third for the father who had already watched his wife die suddenly, and held his newborn as she took her last breath six years ago.
Before Lucy’s death, Mr Moroney described Lucy’s condition, DIPG – Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, as “the worst type of tumour a child can get”.
“It will slowly take over her brain and even though she will be completely aware and conscious, her body will be giving up, he wrote.
“Knowing you could lose a child in that way is the maximum pain you could ever imagine.”
He also described the heartache of telling his younger daughter Amy, 8, her big sister was not going to get better.
Dad tells daughter her ‘best friend’ won’t survive cancer
“Tonight, I had the unenviable task of telling my 8-year-old daughter Amy, that her 10-year-old sister Lucy – her best friend in the whole world – won’t survive her cancer,” he wrote on Facebook four weeks ago.
“I’ve already had to tell Amy in the past that her mummy had died, along with her new baby sister Ruby. She was only 23 months’ old back then and took the news well – she innocently started to play with her toys. She clearly didn’t understand the impact. But tonight, she has cried herself to sleep.”
Mr Moroney has since shared a message of thanks for the many kind tributes, messages and support.
“It means so much to know how Lucy’s light touched so many family, friends and strangers,” he added.
