A mother of a 10-year-old girl who had terminal cancer has revealed how she said her heartbreaking goodbye to her grandfather.
Elizabeth “Lizzy” Joy Wampler was just 10 years old when she passed away in March 2018.
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma - a rare and aggressive pediatric bone cancer - at only nine years old, Lizzy spent 15 months battling the illness.
Now, years later, her mother, Jennifer Wampler, is sharing the heartbreak and hope of her daughter’s journey.
It started as a limp, and at first, doctors thought it might be growing pains.
But further tests revealed the devastating truth that Lizzy had cancer.
“When Lizzy was first diagnosed… she didn’t fully understand what ‘cancer’ meant – she didn’t have a reference point for it,” Jennifer told PEOPLE. “She heard the word, but her focus was more on the pain in her leg and the fact that she just wanted to feel better.”
Her care was transferred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where doctors removed five inches of her femur and inserted a titanium rod in a limb-sparing procedure.
At first, the outlook was cautiously optimistic: her cancer hadn’t spread, and her survival rate stood at 70%.
Lizzy endured chemotherapy, surgeries, and radiation.
“It took everything out of her, yet she never stopped smiling, never stopped loving others,” Jennifer said.
Just one day before her planned “No More Chemo” celebration, the family received devastating news that the cancer had returned, this time in her left pelvis.
Doctors discussed extreme options like hip-level amputation, but the cancer had also relapsed in her right leg. Her odds of survival dropped to just 20%.
“The cancer was relentless,” Jennifer shared. “Lizzy was in so much pain. She had to learn to walk again after every surgery. The nerve pain was unbearable at times… And yet, she still chose to love. Still chose joy.”
Eventually, her medical team had no further options. Her pain grew too intense, and her body too tired. Lizzy was placed on a regimen of fentanyl and morphine, and her care shifted to comfort.
In her last weeks, the Wamplers made it their mission to surround Lizzy with love. But not everyone could say goodbye in person.
Jennifer recalled one of the most emotional moments - a farewell via FaceTime between Lizzy and her grandfather, Dee, who couldn’t travel due to a recent open-heart surgery.
“My father-in-law had just had open-heart surgery and wasn’t able to travel, so we made the incredibly difficult decision to let him say goodbye to Lizzy over video,” Jennifer said. “That’s the moment captured in the video. It was heartbreaking – but it was filled with love.”
During that call, Lizzy told him how much she would miss him. Fighting tears, he responded: "I'll see you again. I will see you in Heaven."
At 3:30AM on March 15, 2018, Lizzy passed away. “She slowly took the breathing tube out from under her nose, gave me soft little kisses on my right arm, and gently laid her head down one last time,” Jennifer recalled.
“I was the first person to ever hold her – and I was the last. That is a moment I will carry with me forever."
Lizzy's family has since set up the Lizzy’s Walk of Faith Foundation, which raises awareness for pediatric cancer by funding research for childhood cancer and providing financial support to families going through similar situations.