Mom Shares Heartbreaking First-Day-of-School Photo
Our Facebook feeds have been inundated by celebratory back-to-school photos, but Lindsay Rhoades is breaking our hearts with a photo of her empty front porch. Her daughter Kate passed away in January from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and the images depicts where she would've been standing, smiling for her first day of kindergarten this past week.
Lindsay took to her Facebook page, Prayers For Kate, penning a tear-jerking note about the milestone her daughter is missing:
"The day after Labor Day means the unofficial start of fall and here, in our county, it marks the first day of school. Kate should be starting kindergarten today. She should have been dropped off this morning with a new backpack full of supplies a cute new outfit on...and a bow in her hair. There should be a first day photo of her proudly smiling on our front porch. A classroom with a teacher excited to learn more about her. A desk with her name. Childhood cancer took that right away from my little girl. It stole the opportunity of a lifetime of learning, starting right here, today. In a classroom at Dranseville Elementary School with new friends, new books, new people and new hope. Instead of dropping her off and worrying about her all day, I visited her at the cemetery and miss her beautiful face. This is childhood cancer. This is my life. #childhoodcancerawarenessmonth #gogold #morethanfour #untilchildhoodcancerisextinct."
Alongside the photo of her doorstep, Lindsay shared a photo of the school Kate would have been attending and a photo from the cemetery where she visited her daughter that day. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Lindsay is making it her mission to bring attention to federal cancer funding in honor of her daughter and for all the other families affected.