While their mom is worried that her daughter does not spend much time with friends, she can't help but cherish her special bond with her brother.
The best moments in life aren't the grand ones, they are the small ones filled with innocence and unconditional love. Aubrey Burge, a 5-year-old girl from Texas, proved this right through her innocent yet poignant gesture.
Aubrey has a 4-year-old brother, Beckett, who is suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia from the last two years. While chemotherapy has ravaged his feeble body, it could not take away his serene smile and the love of his family.
Kaitlin Burge, their mother, captured some of the most excruciatingly beautiful sibling moments in January and shared them on Facebook, reports Daily Mail. In one picture, Aubrey is seen rubbing her brother's back as he bends over to the toilet. The heart-breaking picture is receiving a shower of love on the internet.
Not only does it bring out the warmth of innocent love but it also reassures that no matter what, our families will always have our backs.
"One thing they don’t tell you about childhood cancer is that it affects the entire family. You always hear about the financial and medical struggles, but how often do you hear about the struggles families with other children face? To some, this may be hard to see and read. My two kids, 15 months apart, went from playing in school and at home together to sitting in a cold hospital room together. My then 4 year-year-old watched her brother go from an ambulance to the ICU. She watched a dozen doctors throw a mask over his face, poke and prod him with needles, pump a dozen medications through his body, all while he laid there helplessly. She wasn’t sure what was happening. All she knew was that something was wrong with her brother, her best friend," Kaitlin writes in the heartbreaking post.
Aubrey later washed Beckett's hands and carefully carried him to the couch. She also gave her mom and dad a hand in cleaning the toilet. According to Daily Mail, mom-of-three Kaitlin claims Aubrey shuns going out playing with her pals and would rather stay at home with Beckett so she can keep a close eye on him. Sharing the images of Beckett, now four, and Aubrey, Kaitlin says she is thrilled with their "incredible bond" but admits to feeling sad that her little girl has been exposed to so much.
But Kaitlin says that it is important to let the world know that during a time of crisis, a family always sticks together and sails through.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kaitlin says, "When I see them together, it makes me happy but at the same time it makes me sad. They have an incredible bond. To this day, they are closer, she always takes care of him."
She also revealed that the financial crisis is taking a toll on little Aubrey's dreams and hobbies, "She loves gymnastics and we had to put a stop to that because of the financial burden, it got too expensive with his situation. She should be out doing gymnastics, running around the neighborhood with the kids, playing in the playground, swimming in the pool - but here she is taking care of her brother," she said.
Their love and closeness, she says, does not know gender regulations, "They're very close - they always played together. He'd play dolls with her and she'd play superheroes with him."
Though the parents encourage her to go outside, "She'd rather have her eyes on him," Kaitlin said.
Talking about the picture Kaitlin said that her brother's ailment has taught Aubrey how to give care and support.
"She just picked up from experience and took over. She'd rub his back and tell him it was going to be okay, clean his face up and wash his hands for him. Right after that happened, she also carried him back to the living room and put him on the couch."
"She asked me she could clean up the bathroom too, but I told her to go and sit down because that wasn't her job. She takes it upon herself to help and make sure everything he comes into contact with is clean. She's another set of eyes," she added.
Kaitlin says that they never hid anything from both the kids. They answer all their questions and make sure they understand the situation. She added that helps Aubrey be more supportive of her brother and not be different towards him.
"We've been very open with her so any questions that she ever has we talk through it with her, we explain it with Beckett in the room as well. He'll tell people 'I have cancer,' he knows what he has. We make sure she's very supportive and knows it doesn't make him any different."
"She's always worried about where he is, what he's doing, who he's with. Her having to do things by herself was not something she was used to doing and she didn't want to do it," she added.
Kaitlin signs off the emotional Facebook post, that has garnered over 48,000 likes, with this: "Vomiting between play sessions. Waking up to throw up. Standing by her brothers side and rubbing his back while he gets sick. Going from 30 lbs to 20 lbs. This is childhood cancer. Take it or leave it."
Reference:
https://www.facebook.com/beatitlikebeckett/posts/3305533652820876
