Mother shares heartbreaking photo of cancer-stricken son during his final days
PUBLISHED ONApril 17, 2017 4:33 AMByAndrea Saadan
Get your tissues ready because you're going to need them.
A photo of a cancer-stricken young boy from the US has tugged at the heartstrings of many.
Taken during his last days, four-year-old Nolan's grieving mother, Ms Ruth Scully, took to Facebook to share the photo and write about her son's gut-wrenching ordeal.
The post, which took Ms Scully two months to write after her son's passing, has since gone viral with it being shared over 600,000 times and more than a million Facebook likes.
[embed]https://www.facebook.com/nolanscully/photos/a.1650631771858020.1073741829.1650625025192028/1866071863647342/[/embed]
"My son was terrified to leave my side, even as I showered," she wrote.
The photo was taken before Nolan had to leave for the hospital for treatment.
"Anybody with kids has seen their children laying on the floor before. I think that's why the picture grabbed so many people, it's real," she told CNN in an interview.
According to his official Facebook page, Nolan was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma - a rare soft tissue cancer - back in November 2015.
The young boy had aspired to be a policeman.
During his last few days, he had even prepared a "will" with his mother and wrote that he wanted to be remembered as a policeman.
Ms Scully also recounted a conversation she shared with her child, during which she found out that Nolan had been "fighting" the cancer for her.
She had told him he didn't have to battle the illness anymore.
But the young boy showed his strength even as he took his last breath.
Nolan's right lung had collapsed and was in a deep sleep, said Ms Scully.
In what she dubbed a "miracle", Nolan opened his eyes, took one last breath and said to his mother: "I love you, Mummy"
He died as his mother sang "You are my Sunshine" to him.
Ms Scully said: "Now I'm the one terrified to shower. With nothing but an empty shower rug now where once a beautiful perfect little boy laid waiting for his mummy."
ssandrea@sph.com.sg