00:00Young girl passes away believes a message of wisdom in an unsuspecting place
00:13Cancer is a heartbreaking life-stealing disease that affects millions of people worldwide
00:18No matter what it's a sad day when a person is diagnosed with cancer, but there's nothing more devastating when
00:25the net person is a child
00:27This story is about a little girl who is diagnosed with cancer
00:30But instead of allowing it to consume every part of her she used the illness to leave behind a legacy
00:37It was just before Christmas in 2013 and just like most children
00:41Athena orchard a beautiful 13 year old girl was full of holiday spirit in Leicester England
00:48Amid the excitement Athena suddenly collapsed on the floor
00:52Athena's parents brought her to the hospital to try to figure out what it was that caused her to collapse
00:56out of nowhere
00:58Unfortunately, they received heartbreaking news from the doctors
01:01Sadly Athena was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer known as osteosarcoma and she needed to go into surgery
01:08immediately
01:10Despite the devastating news that the doctors had given her Athena refused to let go of her positive attitude
01:16She was always positive even when she was in the hospital
01:19She'd be looking after me making sure I ate and telling me not to cry
01:23explained Athena's mother Caroline
01:26The doctors immediately brought Athena to the operating room where they spent seven and a half hours removing the tumors
01:31that covered the young girl's shoulders spine and head
01:35After the surgery she'd have to endure many months of chemotherapy
01:39But soon enough Athena was back home with her family ready to put in everything she had to beat the
01:45illness threatening to claim her life
01:47Like most cancer patients going through chemo Athena had lost all of her hair and almost all of her strength
01:54Battling the debilitating effects of the chemotherapy that was given to her after the surgery
01:58To make the time pass Athena wrote songs putting all of her emotion into her writing
02:05She was a very spiritual person. She'd go on about stuff that I could never understand
02:10She was so clever said her father Dean Orchard
02:14Unfortunately, it wouldn't be until Athena's health continued to decline
02:17That was when her parents would see just how clever their daughter truly was
02:22Surrounded by her parents her six sisters and her three brothers Athena passed away on May 28th
02:29Heartbroken the family mourned the loss of their Athena, but shortly after her passing Dean found something amazing
02:36Well Dean was looking through his daughter's things. He moved a mirror that was leaning up against the wall in
02:42her bedroom
02:42He was immediately shocked by what he saw on the backside of the mirror were three thousand handwritten words. I
02:50Couldn't believe it. I saw all this writing. It's so touching
02:54When I first saw it, it just blew me away said Dean
02:57Apparently Athena had written the long note while she was at the height of her battle with cancer
03:02Because of what the young girl was going through at the time her raw emotion could be seen throughout the
03:07entire thing
03:09Happiness depends upon ourselves. Maybe it's not about the happy ending. Maybe it's about the story
03:14The purpose of life is a life of purpose the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra
03:22Happiness is a direction not a destination
03:25Thank you for existing be happy be free believe forever young
03:31You know my name not my story. You've heard what I've done, but not what I've been through
03:36Love is like glass looks so lovely, but it's easy to shatter
03:41Love is rare life is strange. Nothing lasts and people change
03:46Every day is special so make the most of it. You could get a life-ending illness tomorrow. So make
03:52the most of every day
03:53Life is only bad if you make it bad
03:56If someone loves you then they wouldn't let you slip away no matter how hard the situation is
04:02Remember that life is full of ups and downs
04:05Never give up on something. You can't go a day without thinking about I
04:09I want to be that girl who makes the bad days better and the one that makes you say my
04:14life has changed since I met her
04:16Love is not about how much you say. I love you. It's about how much you can prove. It's true
04:21Love is like the wind you can feel it, but you can't see it
04:26I'm waiting to fall in love with someone. I can open my heart to
04:29Love is not about who you can see spending your future with it's about who you can't see spending your
04:34life without
04:36Life is a game for everyone, but love is the prize only I can judge me
04:42Sometimes love hurts now. I'm fighting myself
04:45Baby, I can feel your pain
04:47Dreams are my reality. It hurts, but it's okay. I'm used to it
04:53Don't be quick to judge me. You only see what I choose to show you. You don't know the truth.
04:58I
04:59Just want to have fun and be happy without being judged
05:02This is my life not yours. Don't worry about what I do
05:06People gonna hate you rate you break you, but how strong you stand. That's what makes you you
05:13There's no need to cry because I know you'll be by my side
05:18The family was obviously shocked and taken over by the emotional integrity of the letter
05:24For such a young person Athena was able to perfectly describe the ups and downs of life and
05:29Happiness with a positive mindset
05:32Naturally Dean couldn't even read the letter out loud without breaking down into tears
05:37It's so touching. She never mentioned it, but it's the kind of thing she'd do said Dean
05:42Just reading her words felt like she was still here with us. She had such an incredible spirit added Caroline
05:49After Athena passed from this world her friends and family stopped by the home of the orchards and Leicester
05:54Without thinking twice they began to scribble their own positive messages on the windows
06:00Athena orchard's life was cut short, but her words and her memory live on in so many people
06:05Just you reading this is keeping Athena's memory alive
06:08It truly is such a sad thing to happen to such a bright young soul
06:13But thanks to her loving spirit her family will be able to help keep her close forever
06:24You
