Influencer Ashley Stock’s Daughter, 3, Dies of Brain Cancer: She ‘Took Her Final Breath in Our Arms’

Social media influencer and blogger Ashley Stock’s 3-year-old daughter has died, just over a month after being diagnosed with a rare brain tumor.

Stock shared the devastating news on Friday in an emotional Instagram post, writing that her daughter “took her final breath in our arms” on Wednesday at 1:05 p.m.

“For now, I’m overwhelmed with relief that she’s at peace but I’m also feeling crushed by a pain so intense I can’t put it into words,” she wrote. “I let it out a bit at a time, like when you gently twist the lid off a liter soda bottle…releasing the built up pressure a little at a time to keep it from exploding all over the place. I guess it’s like that. I’m twisting the lid on my grief gently. Because if I release it all at once, I don’t see how I could possibly survive.”

“We have complete faith in there being a greater purpose of this tragedy (and it’s already unfolding through your stories of renewed hope), but unfortunately, faith is not a ‘get out of pain free’ card, and that’s okay,” she continued. “I don’t know how to do this, so for now we’ll continue one day at a time held by the grace of God, the support of loved ones and the prayers of strangers who have become friends.”

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Stevie update: she’s a tough tough cookie. She’s happy. She’s playing. She’s bossing her brothers around and asking for “surprise” all day long and then squeals with glee when we bring her one of the gifts y’all have been sending her way. Any time we say “i love you” her response is “i love you more”, and that has become our forever phrase that we’ll carry with us always. She has lost a lot of the strength in her arms and legs. She’s still a wiggle worm but doesn’t have the gross motor ability to play and support her body the way she’s used to. For a couple days she would do a sort of side crawl to get around the room but that has stopped, now she plays and rests on the couch for the day. She has tremors and mild seizures throughout the day and in her sleep followed by extreme agitation and disorientation. But she never ever complains. She still has a strong appetite which is great news. Her eye sight and swallowing ability remain intact and we count our blessings for every day she still has those faculties. Her sleep schedule has been erratic and she will often nap for over 5 hours and then be up in the middle of the night. We are exhausted and running on fumes but also grateful for any time we get to spend snuggling and breathing in our baby girl even when it’s at 3am. Update on Mom and Dad: we are a roller coaster of emotions, taking things one day at a time, trying not to let our grief get ahead of us (more on that later when i have the energy to compose my thoughts), counting our blessings and searching for the joy amidst this heartbreak every day. #stevielynnstock #dipg #starsforstevie

A post shared by Ashley Stock (@littlemissmomma) on Apr 30, 2020 at 12:29pm PDT

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Resting ??? #stevielynnstock #dipg

A post shared by Ashley Stock (@littlemissmomma) on May 11, 2020 at 1:53pm PDT

Doctors first discovered that Stevie had a “large mass on her brain” after she was hospitalized on April 11.

“I don’t have words,” Stock wrote in an emotional Instagram post at the time. “Last night our almost three year old daughter, Stevie was admitted to the hospital due to rapidly declining motor function.”

Due to coronavirus restrictions, only one parent was allowed to accompany Stevie. Stock’s husband Ben stayed at home with their two sons, Wesley, 10, and Sawyer, 7.

“After several tests, a social worker came and escorted me to a private room where 4 doctors sat waiting. My stomach sank as I accepted the box of tissues handed to me and they delivered the news that our sweet baby girl has a large mass on her brain,” she wrote.

Two days later, Stock shared the news that their daughter’s tumor “is a form of cancer called DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma). And it has a 0% survival rate.”

“We are shattered. Broken. Gutted,” she wrote. “We will be spending the rest of the week in the hospital to discuss treatments that will make the rest of her life more comfortable. Then we will be headed home where she can be comfortable with her brothers and puppies and we can cherish our sweet girl and heal as a family.”

DIPG is a type of tumor found in the brainstem, which typically presents itself in children between the ages of 5 and 7, according to DIPG.org.

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How do you put worst case scenario into words? That’s what I’m sitting here trying to figure out, in between holding my baby and hyperventilating with my head between my knees. Today we learned the news that Stevie’s tumor is a form of cancer called DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma). And it has a 0% survival rate. We are shattered. Broken. Gutted. Somehow my body continues to produce tears and ugly crying has become my only release. We will be spending the rest of the week in the hospital to discuss treatments that will make the rest of her life more comfortable. Then we will be headed home where she can be comfortable with her brothers and puppies and we can cherish our sweet girl and heal as a family. I won’t pretend to understand why we have to go through this or what Gods purpose is in this pain, but my faith in Him is the only constant i have right now and I’m holding to it with every ounce of strength i posses. He knows our pain and He carries it with us. I know many of you love her dearly and this is ripping you in half too, and your instinct will be to fight and to push and to advocate and to try to save her—i know because those are our instincts too. But the reality of her prognosis is real. We have literally consulted and met with dozens of the top pediatric neurologists, neurosurgeons and oncologists. We would go to the ends of the earth to save her if we could. For all those who have been praying for a miracle with us, keep praying, but please know that Stevie’s miracle, our miracle may not come in the way you’re praying. But God is good and it WILL come and one day we will all understand the purpose in this pain. But for now we surrender. We surrender to her prognosis and that which we can’t control. We give her the best of everything she needs to be happy and pain free and we teach ourselves and our children how to make these final memories happy ones, ones we can hold onto and cherish, memories that make us smile even if we’re smiling through tears. #dipg

A post shared by Ashley Stock (@littlemissmomma) on Apr 14, 2020 at 8:32am PDT

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My unbreaking. I’m working every single second to keep my thoughts present, in this moment, rather than spiral into the fear of the “future possibilities” and “what if’s”. But sometimes i break, the flood gates open and i give myself permission to sit alone and cry while Stevie sleeps. Update: we are admitted and in the oncology unit at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. We are surrounded by compassionate super hero healthcare workers who are already leaving their mark on our hearts. Ben and i still can’t be here with Stevie together (Covid precaution) and that’s a level of soul crushing i can’t even put into words—to not be able to comfort each other during the worst moments of both our lives, to not hold hands and cuddle our daughter together?. Stevie begs to be home with her pups and brothers and her own bed. She’s getting more lethargic by the hour, little appetite, not herself. Right now, all we do is wait and it’s unnerving. We don’t know any more conclusive information until her MRI—which is now scheduled for tomorrow (time TBD). Stevie is beyond brave and i see her working so hard to make the most of this and tolerate her discomfort. I snuck home for an hour today to squeeze my boys and be honest with them about what’s happening with Stevie. We cried together, prayed together and made promises to give grace and show up for each other in this time—i think they got it. Your outpouring of love, compassion, support and prayers is felt beyond measure. We can literally feel your hearts opening to us and that has helped us feel less alone in this scary season, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. #stevielynnstock

A post shared by Ashley Stock (@littlemissmomma) on Apr 12, 2020 at 9:06pm PDT

Just days before her death, the family commemorated Stevie’s third birthday.

“I’m so grateful we celebrated early because these days she’s hurting,” Stock wrote on May 15, alongside a touching tribute to her daughter. “Today she stays on the couch in her cozy little corner. Today she gets flush with pain and grabs her head and closes her eyes with a grimace. Today she has seizures and tremors and lethargy.”

“Her verbal communication abilities are declining more each day but the way she communicates with her eyes holds a wisdom and a knowing far beyond my own. She doesn’t know what’s happening, but she KNOWS what’s happening. And she is brave as hell,” Stock continued.

News of Stevie’s death came days after Stock dedicated a post to her mother, who had come to visit her granddaughter.

“Having her here has given me permission to break open in ways that only a mother can pull out of you,” she wrote in a post shared on May 27, before her daughter’s death. “Her comfort, the way she makes sandwiches, her familiar smell and her soft back scratching have always been a comfort to my aching soul.”

Included in the post was a recent video, which showed Stevie having a “rare lucid moment to welcome her grandma.”

“Today, Stevie is non responsive but still breathing. We are huddling close to her and filling her with endless love and affirmations that she is cherished, that she will be at peace, that she will be pain free, that we will miss her but we will celebrate her every day for the rest of our lives until we are with her again,” Stock continued.