A dying 10-year-old whose last wish was to get married and ‘tied the knot’ with her childhood sweetheart – days before passing away from leukemia, got her wish fulfilled in an heartbreaking ceremony in North Carolina.
Emma Edwards was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in April last year but parents Alina, 39, and Aaron, 41, said they were hopeful that she’d be able to beat the illness.
But in June the family were given the heartbreaking news that Emma’s cancer, an aggressive form that affects white blood cells, was incurable and she only had days to live. Emma sadly passed away on July 11.
Alina said Emma’s dream was to marry boyfriend of two years, ten-year-old Daniel Marshall Christopher Williams Junior, also known as DJ, with the pair previously attempting to ‘wed’ at school during lunchtime when they were eight.
Family and friends decided to band together to make Emma’s dream come true and a ceremony was held for the young couple on June 29 where 100 guests turned up to watch them tie the knot.
Aaron walked Emma down the aisle in her gran’s garden while their third-grade teacher made a speech about how the pair’s relationship began.
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Stay-at-home mom Alina, from Walnut Cove, North Carolina, said: ‘Most kids want to go to Disneyland but Emma wanted to get married, be a wife and have three kids.
‘Their teacher spoke at their wedding and said they tried to have a wedding at recess.
‘They had a bridesmaid and groomsmen and kids come to class with clip-on ties. It was really cute but the teacher said there wasn’t going to be a wedding in her class.
‘When me and DJ’s mom found that out, we said we had to let them get married. It had to happen super-fast.’
She added: ‘We threw it together in less than two days, everything ended up being donated.
‘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.
‘Everyone got to see her who hadn’t been able to. When you have cancer, you’re secluded.
‘Emma was a social butterfly so it was hard for her to be away from everyone.
‘Her doctors came, nurses, teachers, family, friends, everybody.
‘She was in a lot of pain when we got her dressed. It wore her out but she wanted to hold off on pain meds because she didn’t want to fall asleep at her wedding.
‘DJ is the sweetest soul you’ll ever meet. He has a heart of gold and he really loves Emma.’
Alina and Aaron were taking Emma for a new course of treatment when they received the heartbreaking news that she wasn’t going to be able to beat the illness.
Mom-of-five Alina said: ‘We were going for another kind of treatment and they told us that she probably had days to a week, not weeks.
‘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.’
Alina said 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 last year.
Alina said: ‘She was never sick before. All of a sudden, she started throwing up.
‘We found it by accident. She had fallen so they checked her legs and they found the cancer was eating holes in her bones and making her weak.’
Reflecting on her life, Alina and Aaron said that they’re grateful they could help her achieve her dream before she died.
Alina said: ‘She was a sweetheart. I always say we must have made marriage look really fun because that’s all she wanted.’
Daily Mail
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