This loving father served as his ill daughter’s hero up until the day he died. After raising $750,000 for 6-year-old Kelli’s cancer treatment, Tom Attwater died from a brain tumor on Tuesday afternoon, the Daily Mirror reported. While Attwater, from Pattingham in West Midlands, England, had been fighting cancer himself for about three years, he relentlessly dedicated his energy and love to fundraising for his daughter’s treatment, along with penning a beautiful note to Kelli before his death.
Before passing away Tom wrote his little girl a letter that read:
“Darling Kelli,
I’m so sorry I will not get to see you grow up as I so want to. Please don’t blame people or the world for this. A lot of life is simply luck and mine is running out.
Most dads and daughters have decades to chat around the kitchen table, their hands warmed by mugs of coffee, as the dad dishes out advice and their girls no doubt roll their eyes. We don’t have that time. I won’t be able to drop you off on your first day at big school, pick you up after your first date, hold you when your heart hurts or cheer when you graduate.
But while your old dad is still around I thought I’d try to give you some life advice in one go. I hope it gives you some comfort. I hope cancer never returns so that your life is long, fulfilled and happy.
There is no point in asking you not to be sad when I go. I know you will be, princess. And I wish I could be there to wrap my arms around you and snuggle you until you smile again.”