A Couple Were Planning Their Child’s Funeral. Then She Opened Her Eyes And Said These Seven Words

A couple were planning their child's funeral. Then she opened her eyes and said these seven words Although she'd valiantly fought cancer since the age of four Abby Furco was finally losing her battle Tragically doctors had given the youngster who was still only nine years old. Just two days to live and Aware of the short time that they had left with Abby her family gathered around her bedside in order to say their goodbyes But just as it seemed that the little girl was ultimately succumbing to her illness She opened her eyes and said something that took her parents breath away Abby lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her mom Patty dad Joe older sister Maggie and little sister Emily and the girl appears to be much like any other child her age With particular passions for summer camp reading and baking for her loved ones Abby isn't quite so keen though on math her most hated school subject But getting to grips with algebra pales into insignificance when compared to what else Abby had to battle it Sadly, you see the youngster had been diagnosed with cancer in 2011 at the tender age of four In particular Abby had an uncommon form of the disease known as Philadelphia chromosome Positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia and unlike many cancers that particular variant cannot be treated with the usual chemotherapy drugs Abby's prognosis didn't look good either Much to her family's anguish. There was only a 20% likelihood of her pulling through and mom Patty recalled the moment that her life fell apart in a 2014 YouTube video for the st. Baldrick's Foundation Struggling to rain in her tears during her emotional testimony Abby's mother said the day Abby was diagnosed will be in my mind forever Dr. Wessler introduced himself as a hematologist oncologist and his first words were your daughter Abigail has leukemia and after that I heard nothing else of what he said Patty opened up about Abby's diagnosis to during a 2017 interview with people Of that distressing period the mom told the magazine we were devastated. We were basically told that Abby was going to die There's very little hope and dad Joe gave his own take on the situation to the st Baldrick's Foundation saying we didn't know what to expect. It's not something that anybody could prepare for Unfortunately, then family life was about to change dramatically for the Furco's For starters Abby would now spend most of her time in the hospital And as she turned from four to five to six her life was consumed with trying to fight the cancer Abby also had a bone marrow transplant and underwent experimental treatment. Although always with her family at her side Patty added to people we kept Abby surrounded by love because we knew at any moment we could lose her There were moments. We didn't know if she'd pull through she had so many infections that could have ended her life All we could do was watch her fight and try to get better Recalling the challenging time in her life in 2017 Abby would tell Portsmouth, Virginia based NBC affiliate Wavy TV there were lots of new and scary things to me and I was only four years old So I didn't understand most of this I was still kind of new to even going in to get just like your normal kid checkups. It was super scary But thankfully after responding well to treatment Abby got better in 2013 Meaning she was finally able to return to normal life and for one special year. She attended school Spent time with her friends and went to soccer practice without having to worry about heading to the hospital Just like other kids her age Abby even signed up for the Girl Scouts Cruelly though this return to normalcy was relatively short-lived Heartbreakingly, Abby's leukemia returned in September 2014 leaving her family with the prospect of losing their little one once more and Having Abby diagnosed with cancer for a second time felt like a particularly hard blow to the Furco Patty went on to explain to people as hard as that first diagnosis was this one tested every ounce of our being Revealing how the return of the cancer had affected Abby the mom added She became completely immobile any movement hurt her and she hardly spoke To add to that an operation was on the horizon in order to treat the leukemia You see it was decided that Abby needed a second bone marrow transplant She therefore underwent the procedure at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago before transferring to the Duke Children's Hospital in North Carolina Yet even following the surgery Abby's prospects looked grim as things took a devastating turn for the worse Yes, following her transplant Abby experienced a number of serious complications in February 2015 For example, she contracted graft versus host disease Which occurs when white blood cells inside the donated bone marrow start to fight the transplant patients normal cells terrifyingly the condition symptoms include skin blemishes diarrhea and harm to the liver and The worries didn't end there In May 2016 Abby's kidneys began to fail because of the procedures that she'd undergone to fight her cancer Leading to her being admitted to the hospital once more but on this occasion doctors had awful news There was nothing more that they could do for the little girl So Abby entered intensive care needing dialysis around the clock Abby's doctors warned Patty and Joe in fact that she would only survive for two days or so have taken off dialysis machine and Faced with the worst the ten-year-olds parents began planning for her eventual passing Patty later explained to people Doctors told us it was time to let Abby go as she was only awake for like an hour each day We began preparing our other daughters for her death And so Patty and Joe made the no doubt agonizing decision to remove Abby from intensive care and bring her home In the comfort of her own house in Virginia Abby could live out her final days with friends and family Her grandparents took a flight too so that they could say one final farewell to their grandchild And in the meantime Patty and Joe began thinking ahead to Abby's funeral choosing songs flowers and even a casket Yet, Abby was seemingly determined to cling to life with every fiber of her being in 2017 Joe told Norfolk, Virginia based CBS affiliate WTKR while we had dozens of people in the house Abby found a moment of quiet one time Individually to both mom and me and said in a soft voice. I know I'm supposed to die, but I don't think I'm going to yet Naturally this period was especially difficult for Abby's sisters Maggie and Emily who were still too young to understand what was happening In 2016 Patty told the Virginian pilot We just talked to the girls and told them that we would always be together or at least our souls would be But it was then that Abby did something that would surprise everyone she came round and not only that she also started to get better a Delighted Patty told people we couldn't believe it in a matter of days weeks and months Abby started walking and getting stronger it seemed then that Abby had defied the odds a Recovery that Patty would go on to label as an absolute miracle during her conversation with people While speaking to the Virginia pilot the mom added the doctors have no idea what happened One of them told me that in over 25 years. He'd never seen anything like it Meanwhile Abby's dad Joel told WTK are medically speaking. Abby should not be with us anymore Abby Thunder knows that the medical profession in this respect and said thank you for your opinion I'll see you guys in a couple of months or a couple of years and has been continuing on Even Abby's doctor Jacob Wessler was shocked by the youngsters recovery. In fact, it had been his team that had told the Furco's to expect the worst Wessler outlined the situation to people saying Abby was very very sick and her body was shutting down slowly and her organs weren't working correctly anymore And every intervention was just making her worse Wessler continued we told Patty and Joe that there was nothing else we could do The only foreseeable outcome was that Abby was going to die So we helped her get home for hospice care But when we started backing off taking away treatment so that Abby wasn't on so many meds She started getting better all on her own And well Abby's recovery had proven all the medical experts wrong Wessler appeared to be happy to eat his words on this occasion. He said of his patient She's had ups and downs, but if she continues on this path, she's going to make us all look like fools She's defined every single on furthermore, well Wessler couldn't explain Abby's recovery in scientific terms he speculated that the youngsters zest for life may have helped and The girl's will to keep going was evident in the seven little words that she told her parents after coming round Patti revealed those exact words to people saying Abby told us I have so much living to do and Following the stunning improvement in Abby's health her family subsequently decided to take life by the horns Patty added we've stopped asking why she's made this discovery and just started looking to her future Shortly after Abby got better then she got to attend summer camp in particular She went to Camp Fantastic in Front Royal, Virginia, which hosts 100 children a year who've been touched by cancer At the location the kids can enjoy a full week of fun partaking in a range of activities and while recalling her time at Camp Fantastic Abby told the Virginia pilot I had lots of fun glasses These included dancing and crafting a stuffed toy carrier using duct tape So needless to say Abby was feeling a lot healthier after coming so close to a tragic end Then when the youngster got home from summer camp, she prepared to return to school Abby had been homeschooled before cancer battle with the help of a tutor from Red Mill Elementary School in Virginia Beach and Despite all the disruption she'd encountered. She'd somehow managed to keep up and could begin fifth grade on time In the meantime, Abby also had a course of physical therapy Relearning how best to walk and climb stairs following her ordeal Explaining the exercises to the Virginia pilot. Abby said I'm trying to get stronger after being in bed for so long For Patty though given everything that her daughter had been through. It was important that Abby eased her way back into regular life As she went on to explain to the Virginia pilot with school starting were settling into a routine We're just taking it one day at a time Then when Abby was finally well enough her family decided it was time to start living life to the full beginning with a bucket list trip to Italy Interestingly, Abby had fallen in love with the country when she was working on a project about it in second grade And when the brave girl was at death's door, she'd been devastated that she'd never get to see Italy in person All things being better now Abby's family whisked her off on a whistle-stop tour of Italy The Furco's traveled the length and breadth of the country in fact stopping at cities including Naples Venice and Rome and While in Florence the wannabe chef took two cooking lessons learning how to make Italian classics such as tiramisu and pizza then one year after Abby's family were told she was dying the inspirational little girl completed fifth grade and In an even more positive development. She was also in remission. Although she still relied on taking steroids That said Abby's prognosis was not clear meaning her future remained somewhat up in the air Even through Abby's highs and lows her relatives were all too aware of how valuable every moment with her was for the time being though the youngster just wants to focus on living as Patty told people Abby just wants to be a normal kid and hang out with friends and go to school her zest for life is just amazing and Given all that she's been through at a tender age. Abby was made an ambassador for the st Baldrick's Foundation an organization that aims to raise money required for research into childhood cancers Still Abby's life is now about much more than her illness for starters in May 2019 She appeared on stage in a school production of Annie jr In addition, she dreams of one day opening her own eatery one in which she would be the chef Revealing what gets her through her challenges Abby told WAVY TV You have to have that perseverance and positive mindset to know that you have to do it one day at a time One hour at a time one minute at a time and one second at a time You've got to take it slowly and hope that you can make it to tomorrow With this attitude. It seems like the sky's the limit for Abby now that she's been given her future back and As her family knows all too well practically anything is possible when it comes to the determined little girl After all as her mom Patti put it to people we watched her die and come back to life now. We're looking to the future