Daniella Thackray was just 25 years old when she lost her battle with cancer. On the day of her passing, she made her last post to her Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
“If you’re reading this then it means I have died from my battle with cancer and my family are posting my final message on my behalf,” her statement began.
As Daniella continued, she revealed that she was diagnosed with Cholangiocarinoma, “a rare aggressive cancer with often no obvious causes and no cure.” And although the rare cancer claimed her life, one of Daniella’s final wishes is that, “in the years to come, more research is done about this horrid cruel disease so that more lives can be saved.”
While the 25-year-old couldn’t control the hand she was dealt, there is one thing she can control, and that’s how she “reacts” to the hand she was dealt. “I chose not to mourn the life I was losing despite being so devastated, but to instead enjoy every moment I had left.”
“As I have always said and believed you should enjoy the little things in life and cherish every moment! Romanticise your life! Do whatever makes you happy and don’t let anyone take the joy of life away from you,” Daniella continued.
Daniella shared that she “LOVED” her life. And in her short 25 years, she was able to achieve the things she wanted. She “loved my job, my fiancé, my family, my friends and my dog, and the house we were going to buy and the future we were making for ourselves.”
She went on to thank her “fur baby” Leo for making her darkest days bright and everyone else “for making my life so magical.”
Daniella then left her fiancé Tom with a final message. “I love you and always will. Thank you for supporting me and bringing so much love and happiness into my life. Go enjoy your life now, you deserve it.”
In the end, Daniella left the world with one final quote, a quote famously said by Winnie the Pooh.
“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.”
What a special person, Daniella was.