A 13-year-old girl who celebrated beating cancer just two weeks ago has died in a house fire.
Jerilynn Brown had been diagnosed with bone cancer and left hospital in Missouri in June.
The blaze broke out in a farmhouse in Independence, Kansas City, also injuring Jerilynn’s mother Liz Stephens, who is in a critical condition.
A firefighter was also hurt after falling two stories and suffered smoke inhalation when his mask came loose. He has since been treated and released from the hospital, local ABC outlet WCVB reports.
Fire crews responded to the two-story farmhouse early on Friday morning. When they arrived at the scene, plumes of smoke and heavy fires had engulfed the home.
It was only when officials managed to extinguish the fire that they found Jerilynn.
Her father, Jerry Brown, revealed to KSHB that his daughter had been battling osteosarcoma and left the Children’s Mercy Hospital in late June.
He said Jerilynn had grown very close to the doctors and nurses: “She made them presents. Every nurse a present.
“Every nurse and doctor signed this heart she made. She made it with her love while she was fighting cancer because she is a great person.”
Stephens remains in the hospital “fighting for her life due to injuries sustained in the fire,” her family said.
Jerilynn’s stepfather, Stephen Miller, spoke of his grief to ABC6: “She just rang the bell and a month later, here we are, and I'm talking about my baby girl.
“I mean, she just got me to go to church, and I quit drinking. 17 months. All that is because of her.
"Rang the bell at Children's Mercy, two weeks ago, and was cancer-free, and unfortunately, today, she's no longer with us, she's free.”
A GoFundMe fundraiser has raised over $6,000 for Jerilynn’s funeral costs and her mother’s ongoing medical care.
“Jerrilynn was a bright, brave, and beautiful soul who had just overcome a long battle with cancer only two weeks prior. Her strength and spirit touched everyone who knew her. To have her taken so suddenly after all she had endured is beyond heartbreaking,” her family said in the fundraiser.
The Independence Fire Department and Missouri State Fire Marshal are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.
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