14 DAY TRIAL // A 12-year-old girl who lost her battle with cancer last week left a heartbreaking note on the back of a mirror telling her family to “make the most of every day.”
Athena Orchard passed away last Wednesday after a cruel fight with the terminal disease, but before her death, she wrote a moving 3,000-word message on the back of her stand-up bedroom mirror, expressing her thoughts on life and approaching death.
Athena’s dad Dean was the one to discover the long note penned by his daughter after she was diagnosed with cancer last December. He says he tried to read the message in its entirety after he discovered it, but couldn’t because he broke down in tears when it got to the part about her illness.
“Every day is special, so make the most of it,” the young girl wrote on her secret message. “You could get a life-ending illness tomorrow so make the most of every day. Life is only bad if you make it bad.”
According to Daily Mail, Athena’s troubles started last Christmas when she collapsed at her home in Leicester. Medics diagnosed her with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and she underwent intense chemotherapy to treat hthe cancer in her spine, left shoulder and head. She also had to undergo a seven-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the tumor on her spine and wore a wig to cover her hair-loss.
Although her last months were not easy at all, Athena’s emotional message shows that she maintained a positive outlook on life and its terrible twists.
“Happiness depends upon ourselves. Maybe it’s not about the happy ending, maybe it’s about the story. The purpose of life is a life of purpose,” she also said in the note.
The cancer victim’s parents said their daughter loved to write, but they knew nothing about the lengthy note on the back of her mirror until after her death. They added that Athena also left behind a box full of song lyrics she had written.
“She never mentioned it, but it's the kind of thing she'd do,” he said. “She was a very spiritual person, she'd go on about stuff that I could never understand - she was so clever. It's so touching. When I first saw it, it just blew me away.”
The girl’s mother Caroline said they would be keeping the mirror “forever” in her room as it is a part of who their daughter was.