After courageously and happily spending her short life overcoming genetic hearing loss and battling a cancer diagnosis, 9-month-old Francesca “Bean” Kaczynski – daughter of CNN journalist Andrew Kaczynski and Wall Street Journal reporter Rachel Louise Ensign – died of cancer complications on Christmas Eve.
“We are heartbroken to have to announce that our beautiful daughter Francesca passed away last night in the arms of her mother and father,” tweeted Kaczynski, who narrated Bean’s battle with cancer on the platform. “There will always be a bean-sized hole in our hearts for her. We are very grateful to have met her love. “
A GoFundMe that was started for “Team Beans” in September has accumulated over $ 115,000. Instead of flowers, food or gifts of any kind, the family He asked that donations be made in honor of Francesca for a bike-a-thon fundraiser that donates all proceeds to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Kaczynski also tweeted that people can donate blood or platelets at a Boston Children’s Hospital, where Bean was treated with “remarkable love and kindness,” he wrote in a post on Medium about his passing.
In his nine months on this Earth, Bean proved to be an “outgoing, bold and curious child”, a big fan of eating, Elmo and being hugged at night, Kaczynski wrote in the touching article. “A fan of Brooklyn’s Sesame Street, Francesca liked to take long walks in New York City and Boston, play with her toys and balloons, do speech therapy and ‘pet’ (ie, grab) her Ryland cat,” he continued . “His many smiles sent an emotion around the world. She was so generous to them, even when most of the smiles back were covered in masks. “
Although her life was interrupted by cancer, Bean managed to spread a lot of joy in her brief period here, including for her doctors and nurses who “would be overwhelmed with joy when they saw her smile”. She “showed her parents a kind of love that they have never known before and will never forget” and inspired thousands through Kaczynski’s heartfelt online updates, which were met with a wave of support, prayers and love.