CNN political reporter Andrew Kaczynski and his wife and The Wall Street Journal banking reporter Rachel Louise Ensign shared devastating news for the couple on Friday: Their
9-month-old
daughter
Francesca
died on Christmas Eve after battling a
rare cancer.
"It hurts our hearts to announce that our beautiful daughter Francesca passed away last night in the arms of her parents," wrote Kaczynski on Twitter and shared the photo of his daughter.
"
There will always be a hole
the size of a bean (as they called her) in our hearts for her. We are so grateful to have met her love. Francesca, we love you."
Since the journalist published the tragic news, social networks have been flooded with farewell messages.
In September, Kaczynski said her baby was diagnosed with "an
extremely rare and very aggressive rhabdoid
brain tumor
."
This type of brain tumor usually appears in children under 3 years of age.
Fewer
than 40 cases
are detected each year
across the country.
The journalist then assured that Francesca was "the strongest and most resistant person".
"Less than a week ago she had two brain surgeries and she is already home and smiling. I trust that she will fight this," he said.
[Meghan Markle reveals she had a miscarriage this summer]
But on December 23, Kaczynski revealed that his daughter, who had undergone
chemotherapy
, was on life support after developing a "terrible fungal infection" and being on a ventilator for more than two weeks.
Francesca, who was born on March 11, was called
“Frijol” or “Frijolito”
by her parents
, the couple said in an obituary published Friday.
"In her short life, Francesca was
an outgoing, bold and curious baby.
She had huge, deep brown eyes that followed what her parents did. She loved to eat and to be kept close, especially at night," says the obituary.
[This is the cancer that killed the star Chadwick Boseman: it especially affects minorities and young people]
His many smiles sent excitement throughout the world.
She was very generous to them, even when most of the smiles they returned were covered by masks and even when faced with challenges that would scare an adult, such as a cancer diagnosis or being born with hearing loss, ”her parents add in the page.
Both journalists and celebrities have expressed their condolences after the death of Francesca.
"Oh no. Andrew, I'm so sorry," wrote actress Mia Farrow.
["It gives me a lot of hope," says this dreamer who survived cancer and will now apply for DACA]
"All my condolences, even knowing that all the sympathy in the world is totally inadequate for such a loss," wrote New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff.
In lieu of a gift, Francesca's parents asked that donations be made in honor of their baby for PMC's Winter Cycle charity event, which donates proceeds to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
With information from USA Today and The Huffington Post.