A nine-year-old boy with stage 4 cancer meets his newborn sister — a few days later, his parents watch and are left speechless.
A nine-year-old boy with terminal cancer meets his newborn sister a few days later. His parents watch and are left stunned. Doctors had said that Bailey Cooper, nine, didn’t have much time to live—perhaps only a few weeks, or even days. But the seriously ill boy lived longer than expected and, against all odds, held on long enough to meet his little sister and give her a name. Bailey Cooper was first diagnosed in 2016.
What doctors initially thought was a viral infection quickly turned out to be something far worse: non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare cancer that develops in the body’s network of blood vessels and glands. When doctors diagnosed Bailey, he was already at stage three. For more than 15 months, the boy and his family went through an emotional roller coaster.
For a while, Bailey’s cancer went into remission, but during a family vacation, the doctors called with heartbreaking news: Bailey’s cancer had returned.
“The doctors tried everything and told us that the long-term effects would last the rest of his life, even if he survived,” said his father, Lee.
Bailey’s family and doctors did everything they could to save him, including a stem cell transplant. Remarkably, Bailey smiled through every treatment. Unfortunately, the illness proved too strong, and doctors gave the nine-year-old boy with cancer only a few days or weeks to live. But they hadn’t counted on this boy’s determination to meet his youngest sister.
Bailey’s mother, Rachel, was pregnant, and Bailey Cooper made it clear that he wouldn’t go anywhere until he had met his little sister. Doctors thought Bailey wouldn’t be able to fight his cancer long enough to see his sister born. But when Rachel gave birth to their baby girl in November, Bailey defied all expectations to be there. This brave boy with cancer lived long enough to meet his little sister and even give her a name.
“The doctors said he would pass away before Millie was born,” said his father, Lee. “He didn’t. He fought, and on the way to the hospital, he said, ‘We should call her Millie.’ We didn’t think he’d last that long, but he was determined to meet Millie.”
It was late November, and Millie was born. He held her in his arms and did everything a big brother would: changing her diapers, washing her, singing her songs.
Meeting his little sister was exactly what Bailey had been waiting for. He and his family knew he probably wouldn’t live until Christmas, but he lived long enough for his Christmas wish to come true. Having lived so long, Bailey Cooper knew it was time to go to heaven. The moment he met her, he began to decline rapidly. He passed away slowly. Bailey knew his days were numbered, but he faced his death without fear. On the contrary, Bailey Cooper showed courage and care far beyond his nine years. His concerns were for everyone else, not himself. When his grandmother said she wished she could take his place, he replied:
“That’s really selfish, Grandma, you have grandchildren you need to take care of.”
Bailey planned his own funeral and said he wanted the guests to wear superhero costumes. And even though they knew their son probably wouldn’t live to see Christmas, his parents, Rachel and Lee, asked him to make a list of gifts he wanted.
“He knew he wouldn’t be here for Christmas, but we tried to get him to make a Christmas list. He said he didn’t want to, but we encouraged him,” explained Rachel.
All Bailey really wanted for Christmas was to meet his little sister Millie, but he did his parents a favor and wrote a list of a few other wishes. Even that showed the generous spirit of this incredible boy. When Bailey’s parents looked at their dying son’s Christmas list, they noticed something amazing: nothing on the list was actually for him.
“Most of the things he asked for were things he never actually played with,” explained Lee. “They were more suitable for his little brother. He had chosen everything for Riley because he knew he wouldn’t be playing with them anymore.”
Bailey had already received his gift: he lived long enough to meet Millie. On the eve of his death, the proud big brother held Millie in his arms with the biggest smile—the same smile he wore even during his tough cancer treatments.
“Bailey went through everything with a smile,” Lee remembers. “He made faces and made people laugh, even when he was in great pain.”
On Christmas Eve, surrounded by his family, Bailey finally found peace. He passed away to be with the Lord.
“At 11:45 on Christmas Eve, we were sitting by his bed. We knew it wouldn’t be long. We told him, ‘It’s time to go, Bailey, stop,’” explained Rachel. “The moment we said ‘stop,’ he took his last breath, and a single tear fell from his eye. It was peaceful.”
Even in his final moments, this boy’s thoughts were focused on others. Bailey gave strict instructions to his grieving parents:
“You can only cry for 20 minutes. You have to take care of Riley and Millie.”
And the little boy was already planning to watch over his little sister when he went to heaven.
“I want to stay, but it’s my time to go to become her guardian angel,” Bailey Cooper said, with a wisdom far beyond his nine years.
Hundreds of people came to the funeral dressed in superhero costumes to honor Bailey Cooper. He spent only nine years on Earth, but this incredible boy with cancer lived long enough to have a huge impact on the world around him.
“We are stunned, but in a way, also happy that he no longer suffers,” said his grieving father, Lee.
Rachel added:
“The hardest thing is living without him.”
