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A 13-year-old girl who died after battling an extremely rare type of bone cancer left behind a hidden message on the back of her mirror, which her family discovered when she passed.
Athena Orchard had no idea that finding a tiny lump on her head in December could ever be life-threatening.
But after the young teen collapsed in her home the same month, her family knew something was wrong.
Athena was soon diagnosed with very aggressive osteosarcoma, which had spread through her spine, left shoulder, and head.
Aside from going through intense chemotherapy treatments, the brave girl also endured a seven-and-a-half-hour surgery to treat the cancer.
Even through it all, Athena’s family said she always kept up a positive attitude.
“We knew the cancer was very aggressive, the doctors had never seen anything like it. She fought it as long as she could but eventually she became too weak to get out of bed,” said her mother, Caroline Orchard, 37.
After the young girl lost her battle to the terminal disease last week, her father, Dean Orchard, 33, discovered the hidden note on the back of her mirror.
He said, “It was a stand-up mirror in her room, and it was always lent up against the wall so we never saw behind it.”
“When I moved the mirror after she died I couldn't believe it, I saw all this writing, it must have been about 3,000 words,” the father added.
The lengthy message was written in marker shortly after she was diagnosed with the cancer.
In her note, Athena talks about the disease which would later take her life, writing, “Every day is special, so make the most of it. You could get a life-ending illness tomorrow so make the most of every day... Life is only bad if you make it bad.”
Athena’s mother said that finding the beautiful message was surprising, but not out of character for somebody as smart and creative as her daughter.
“We knew that Athena loved to write, that was part of who she was, it made her happy. When we read the message it blew us away, Dean started to try and read it but then he just broke out in tears—when it got to the part about her illness, he couldn't finish,” the mother said.
“She was an incredible girl, so bright and so strong, she continually amazed me,” she added.
One of the most powerful excerpts from the message is about how we can make our own happiness.
The message reads, “Happiness depends upon ourselves. Maybe it's not about the happy ending, maybe it's about the story.”
Athena is survived by her six sisters and three brothers, and her family says that they will hold her message close to their hearts forever.
“We're keeping the mirror forever, it is a part of her we can keep in the house, it will always be in her room. Just reading her words felt like she was still here with us, she had such an incredible spirit,” her mother said.
