In an emotional and brave move, Casey Daggett, mother of Zoey Catherine Daggett, chose to share her daughter’s last moments on Facebook, revealing a heart-wrenching yet deeply touching story that has resonated with many.
Zoey Catherine Daggett entered the world as a healthy child, bringing immense joy to her parents, Casey and Benjamin Daggett. For the first five years of her life, Zoey experienced a normal, happy childhood. However, in July 2016, a sudden and alarming incident at a park would change the Daggett family’s life forever.
Zoey fell while playing and began to limp. Her mother, Casey, recalled the moment in an interview with the Daily Mail. “She fell at a park, and she was limping like she broke something that was really, really bad,” Casey said. When Zoey’s condition did not improve, her concerned parents took her to the hospital. The left side of Zoey’s body was not functioning properly, prompting doctors to conduct a series of tests.
After a day of waiting anxiously, Casey and Benjamin received the devastating news: Zoey had a brain tumor. Three weeks later, the diagnosis came back as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare and aggressive brain cancer. “We were in the hallway outside because Zoey was receiving radiation and we just thought: ‘Oh, cr*p,’” Casey shared. “We just thought: ‘Okay, this changes things.’ We didn’t know what to do, where to go. We were told it’s pretty much a death sentence.”
Determined to fight for their daughter, Casey and Benjamin reached out to every clinical trial they could find, only to face repeated rejections. “It was a really disheartening August and September,” Casey recalled. Finally, the family found a glimmer of hope in an immunotherapy treatment trial in Cologne, Germany. In October 2016, they rented an apartment and traveled to Germany for the trial.
The treatment appeared to be successful initially. Casey described the positive changes in Zoey: “The tumor was shrinking, and Zoey was back to running fully with no side effects. She loved visiting the Christmas markets in Germany. We lived across the street from the Lindt chocolate factory, so she loved going to visit there.” The Daggetts returned to Fairport, New York, optimistic about Zoey’s future. However, their relief was short-lived.
By April 2017, Zoey’s tumor began to grow again, and the immunotherapy stopped being effective. The situation rapidly deteriorated, and by June 2017, Zoey had lost the ability to walk, eat, and talk. Scans revealed the tumor was spreading, and on July 4, 2018, Zoey passed away.
Casey recounted the heartbreaking day of Zoey’s passing. “I woke up that morning and I just started bawling my eyes out and I told Ben that I could tell this is just going to be the last day,” she sobbed. The day after Zoey’s death, Casey and Ben shared a poignant photo of her final moments on their Facebook page, Zoey’s Light. The caption read, “Zoey is going to be shared with the world. Her love and light have been abundant, and we will continue to pay it forward and share love and light with the world.”
The couple also used the post to announce Zoey’s funeral details, and the response from the community was overwhelming. In sharing this intimate moment, Casey and Ben aimed to convey a message of hope and love. “I shared it because even though it’s a painful moment, it’s a beautiful moment in our eyes,” Casey explained. “It was a kind of peaceful moment for Ben and me. This is our reality and we wanted to show people every side of it.”
Casey emphasized the couple’s mission to spread love in Zoey’s memory. “Our path and our mission is to spread love and to spread it forward. Zoey would share food, share her toys, share chewing gum. She was full with love always even when she felt like utter poop. Still her happy, loving, giggling self,” she added. “And we just want to be able to help others because that’s what our kid would have done.”
In sharing Zoey’s final moments, Casey and Benjamin Daggett have provided a profound and touching example of love, courage, and the enduring human spirit.
