A woman whose 13-year-old daughter died from devastating cancer wants her story to serve as a lesson to bring people together. such as her child would have wanted.
“Towards the end I told her that little birds would soon take her to the stars and that she should follow them. She left us two days later,” says Julie Picard emotionally.
It all started last winter when her daughter Sarah reported severe persistent fatigue, which was initially attributed to her active lifestyle. At 12, the young girl took speed skating lessons, a sport she loved, and piano lessons after school.
Julie Picard, Sarah Sirois’ mother, wants to share her daughter’s message of love with the public in order to fulfill her last wish. Jeremy Bernier
But the tests showed nothing conclusive. The same was true when Lévis’ family went to the hospital in the fall because of intermittent headaches and vomiting.
“Then, on July 1, my daughter started squinting. Doctors eventually did an MRI and discovered she had tumors behind her head,” says Ms Picard.
Sarah Sirois spent most of the last two months of her life between Maison Lémerveil and the hospital. Provided by Julie Picard
Enjoy life
Then everything came to a head for little Sarah: she was diagnosed with a high-grade glioma, a type of cancer that initially develops in the brain but has already spread to the spine.
Over the next few weeks, her condition continued to deteriorate and she fell into a coma before miraculously waking up again after a few days. A brief lull allowed the family to take a short vacation.
Sarah Sirois loved speed skating, a sport she had practiced for years. Provided by Julie Picard
Aware of her precarious situation, the young girl, who had now celebrated her 13th birthday, decided to tell what she had experienced in the hope of opening people’s eyes.
“I want people to know my story […] Tell them that life goes by quickly and that they should enjoy it,” she began writing before reality caught up with her.
Last will
Sarah Sirois finally died on the night of August 20th to 21st after “falling asleep” two days earlier. Barely 50 days had passed since the first MRI.
“[Dans les semaines précédentes]She wanted me to read her the message that I would read to her in church during her funeral. I’m glad that she could really hear it and that she liked it,” sighs the child’s mother, her voice trembling.
Sarah Sirois wanted to make sure she had beautiful photos for her sympathy cards, so she decided to do a photo shoot a few weeks before her death. We see her here with her father Michel Sirois. Provided by Julie Picard
With the aim of respecting her daughter’s last wish, Ms. Picard has decided to entrust herself to the Journal in the hope of raising awareness among the population of the importance of every little moment she spends with the family.
The family wishes that their expressions of sympathy will be translated into donations to Maison Lémerveil Suzanne Vachon, Leucan, the Governors of Hope Foundation, the Quebec CHU Foundation and the Brain Tumor Foundation.