HOUSTON – Layla Grace Marsh, the 2-year-old Cypress girl whose courageous battle with cancer inspired thousands, died Tuesday morning.
"Layla went to play with the angels early this morning," a post on Layla’s Twitter feed read. "Rest in peace precious Layla."
KHOU.com first heard Layla’s story from her mother, Shanna Marsh, back in August.
Marsh said five months prior, Layla had been a happy, healthy little girl.
But when Layla was about 16 months old, Marsh said her daughter’s sleeping habits and appetite changed, and she started becoming irritable.
After Layla woke up one day with a swollen eye, her parents took her to the doctor and were told she had an ear infection.
But Marsh said she knew something else was wrong. Layla’s belly was hard and swollen, and she was not having bowel movements.
Marsh said when Layla stopped eating, and the family was referred to a GI specialist.
And that’s when they got the news that no parents ever want to hear: Layla was suffering from Stage 4 Neuroblastoma.
According to Texas Children’s Hospital, Neuroblastoma is a cancer that arises from the autonomic nervous system, which controls blood pressure, intestinal movement and sweating, among other functions.
It’s one of the most common cancers in children and rarely occurs in persons over 10 years of age.
Doctors say a child’s prognosis depends on his or her age, the stage of the cancer and the characteristics of the tumor.
In Layla’s case, doctors revealed she had a massive cancerous tumor extending from above her left kidney, around her side, over her belly and wrapped around her aorta.
Doctors said the cancer had also attacked Layla’s bones and marrow.
After the diagnosis, the Marshes sprung into action, tirelessly working to raise funds for Layla’s treatment and raise awareness about Neuroblastoma.
As it turns out, Layla’s story resonated with people all over the world.
There are multiple Facebook pages dedicated to Layla, the most popular of which has 60,000 fans.
The Marshes also chronicled Layla’s fight on Twitter, where her daughter had over 43,000 followers.
The feed was even updated in the days and hours leading up to Layla’s death.
"Layla is still sleeping. Occasionally she makes noises that indicate she’s in pain, but she hasn’t woken up in a few days," a post from March 8 read.
"Mommy is rocking Layla. She has only opened her eyes once today. Her feet are getting cold, too," a post made a few hours later read.
"Please continue to pray for peace for Layla. Her dad is in her room right now talking to her and comforting her. She is not doing well at all," a post from late Monday night read.
After she passed away Tuesday, Layla’s Web site, laylagrace.org, crashed from the heavy traffic.
Layla’s Facebook pages were flooded with posts to the Marsh family, offering prayers and expressing sorrow.
11 News also received e-mails from numerous people who were moved by Layla’s fight.
"She has forever changed the mother I will be to my daughter and deserves to have her life celebrated," one e-mail read.
"This family, their story, Layla’s remarkable beauty come together to make this family truly ‘special.’ Oh, and I’ve never [met] them - just heard from a friend of a friend and have been following the story for months," another e-mail read.
Layla endured more than her fair share of pain in her short life, through surgeries, chemo, blood transfusions, radiation, bone marrow harvests and the pain of a relentless, terminal disease.
But if you listen to the thousands who loved her, it’s clear that Layla Grace Marsh’s story, her courage and her strength will not be forgotten – even by people she never met.
If you would like to make a donation to help the family with Layla’s medical expenses, click here.
You may also donate at any Wells Fargo bank. Ask a manager to make a deposit to the Layla Grace Marsh donation account.
