Jacob Thompson passed away at just nine-years-old on Sunday after a five year battle with cancer.
He passed away surrounded by his loved ones and thousands of Christmas cards, sent to him by strangers from around the world.
Tragically diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma at the age of four, Jacob was hospitalised last month after the cancer spread to his head and hip.
After learning there was little the doctors could do for Jacob, his parents were given the unimaginable news that why should spend as much time with their son as possible before his passing.
It was then his mother, Michelle Thompson Simard, set up a heartbreaking GoFundMe page for her son, asking strangers to send Christmas cards as Jacob would most likely not live to see his last festive season.
From the early November when the first Christmas cards were received to just days ago, Jacob’s family was overjoyed with the response for the cards.
“Thank you for the love and support! You guys are already blowing my mind with the response and comments,” said the boy’s mother in early December.
Jacob and his family celebrated Christmas last week, where the nine-year-old was excited to be visited by Mr and Mrs Santa Claus.
On November 19th, Michelle posted on a Facebook page called Jacob’s Journey, that Jacobs life had “peacefully” come to an end.
“Each and every person who sent Jacob a Christmas card, a gift, a Facebook message or video, or a prayer made a difference in the final days of his life,” she explained in the post.
“You brought Jacob joy, and you brought us all optimism for the future. Thank you for taking the time, and taking an interest in our sweet boy’s journey. Sadly, there are many others like him that we hope you will continue to help.”
The final number of Christmas cards reached well into the thousands.
Our thoughts are with Jacob’s family at this tragic time.
