A 12-year-old boy received his dying wish of walking his mother down the aisle just days before losing his battle with cancer. Keith Burkett from Stow, Ohio, passed away on Monday after a six-year fight against a rare form of childhood cancer.
Only days before, he was by his mother Taylor Woodard's side when she and her husband Adam wed in their living room on November 7. 'He said, "Well momma I would like to walk you down the aisle before I die," and then I was like you know what we're making it happen,' Taylore told Fox 8 of her son's last wish.
While sharing photos from the wedding on the Kourageous Keith Facebook page, the mom called it 'the most bittersweet heartbreaking emotional day' of her life. 'But my baby boy got to walk me down the aisle and we got to honor his final wish,' she added. At the time, Keith was in home hospice, and Taylore said that she could sleep at night knowing that she gave her baby boy his wish.
A video that was posted on the Facebook page shows Keith being wheeled down the aisle in his wheelchair ahead of his mother, who stops to give him a kiss on the head at the end of the walk. 'I would have never thought I would sit and beg God to take my child but I would rather him be with God then suffer the way he is, it's not fair,' Taylore told Fox 8. Less than a week after the wedding, the grieving mother shared on the Facebook page that Keith had passed away that afternoon.
'Today at 12:57pm keith earned his angel wings and it's now in heaven in peace to be with god. Mommy misses you so much already baby boy!' she wrote. 'You will always be with mommy! I don't know how mommy is going to live without you! A piece of me will forever be gone. I promise you baby I'll do my best!
We love you so much baby!! RIP MY KEIFY!' Within hours, over a thousand people took to the comments section to share their condolences with Taylore and her family. Keith first started showing symptoms of the illness when he was just five years old. He was diagnosed with undifferentiated soft tissue sarcoma in March 2012. The boy underwent several rounds of aggressive treatment, but last spring doctors found that the cancer had spread to his skull, left shoulder, the lower part of his spine, pelvis, and liver.
Keith captured the hearts of thousands during his cancer battle, and last month, the entire town of Stow banned together to give him an early Christmas. Doctors feared his cancer would claim his life before the end of the year, and his mother wanted him to enjoy one last holiday celebration. Taylore turned their house into a winter wonderland at the end of September, two months before most people start decorating. Neighbors soon caught the Christmas spirit and began hanging their own decorations.
The people of Stow eventually pulled together to give him a Christmas he would never forget by decorating their homes, singing carols, and dressing up as Santa. The special day included a ride in a fire truck, a procession of more than 100 cars decorated for Christmas, and even a medal for bravery from the town's mayor. 'It was awesome. The fire truck was my favorite part because I've never been in one before. I got to beep the horn,' Keith said of the celebrations.
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