Mercedes White - best known for amassing millions of views as a book reviewer on TikTok - has shared the tragic news that her two-year-old son has died.
In a heartbreaking post on Facebook shared on November 10, White wrote: "I don’t even know what to do with myself. I can’t sit around. I feel helpless. Wesley lost his life this morning and I truly can’t not understand why this has happened."
Writing in a follow-up post, the grieving mom revealed that young Wesley had suffered "sort of cardiac arrest", adding: "We were on the way to the hospital and things just went terribly down hill. I will love him forever. My life revolved around that silly little boy. I don’t know where to go from here. I love you all."
No official cause of death has been reported as of this writing.
Following Wesley's heartbreaking passing, the mom set up a GoFundMe in order to help raise funds for her son's funeral. On the page, she wrote: "I didn’t think I would ever be asking for money to help bury my son. Words can not [describe] the absolute hole in our lives. Anything helps. Thank you."
As of this writing, the kind donations have resulted in more than $40,000 being raised for the family.
Over on TikTok, the mom also shared the news with her 155,000+ followers.
Addressing the "BookTok community" (book lovers who use TikTok), White revealed that she first started her channel three months ago after saying she was a stay-at-home mom with "no friends" who just "wanted to talk about books".
She then went on to thank her followers and the community for reaching out with messages of support, adding that her heart is "unbelievably broken".
"I wish there was a rule book on grief," she wrote, before adding that she was "angry", "confused", and "devastated".
In a video posted on TikTok on November 17, White revealed that Wesley had been cremated as part of a "celebration of life" service.
"All of this sucks, all of this is really hard," she said. "But I really want to say 'thank you' to my BookTok, to you guys. I am absolutely blown away. I've always said that I feel like I deserve you guys [...] but I am forever grateful for how these community came and helped me. I will never forget that. Ever."
Since sharing the heartbreaking news, White has been flooded with messages and comments from her followers.
"You are his mom. You are a mom. Forever," one person commented.
"You can ramble, scream, cry, stare into the abyss and we would still be here for you when you are ready. Sending strength and love," a second added.
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And a third commented: "Mercedes take all the time you need!!! We are not going anywhere."
This week, Mercedes has returned to her channel to reveal that she is once again finding comfort in books and reading.
Our thoughts go out to White and her family and loved ones at this time.