A terminally ill mother from Brooklyn took to social media to announce her own death.
Casey McIntyre, 38, died on Sunday of ovarian cancer. Knowing her death was imminent, she penned a final note to communicate her appreciation for the care medical staff and loved ones had extended to her during her final months.
The post included photos of McIntrye surrounded and comforted by family. The terminally ill McIntyre is seen smiling as her husband Andrew Gregory and her 18-month-old daughter Grace stand nearby.
“I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you,” wrote McIntyre.
I knew how deeply I was loved,” she added, noting that friends and family made her last months at home in hospice care “magical.”
The note was not completed due to a rapid decline in health in Casey’s final days.
After his wife’s passing, Gregory wrote: “Casey meant to finish this post with a list of things that were a comfort and a joy to her during her life, and I am heartbroken that I will never see that list.”
Musing about what Casey may have written, Gregory surmised Casey would have noted her favorite things were their “daughter Grace, whales, ice cream, her beloved friends, being at the beach, her niece and nephews she incorrigibly doted on, reading 10 books on a weeklong vacation, her beloved parents and sister and their amazing extended family, swimming, a perfect roast beef sandwich, and me, her sweet, sweet honey.”
Gregory’s love for his wife of eight years is evident in his posts and affirmed by all who knew the couple. “Oh, Casey!!!!” Gregory wrote, “I don’t know how we will do it without you…”
Recent posts by Gregory and Casey have gone viral, generating thousands of “likes” and heartfelt comments.
On Wednesday, Gregory updated Casey’s Instagram page to include her obituary, which described the former publisher at Razorbill as an “inveterate New Yorker.” An excerpt from the obituary reads:
She derived great joy from publishing books for a new generation of readers, and saw herself in every child sprawled out on a couch, rug, or bunk bed engrossed in their latest book obsession.
She and Gregory wed in 2015, and she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in 2019 while undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment.”
… her greatest gifts and joys were her ready and generous wit, her easy laugh, her devotion to her family and friends, and her astonishing determination and grit.”
She was treated by a “top-notch” NYC medical team and was especially thankful for her “nurses, who for better or worse, told her that she could check in and then wait to start chemo while dining on a shrimp cocktail at P.J. Clarke’s.”
Casey’s memorial service will be held on December 2 at Prospect Park Boathouse.
The New York Post reported that donations will help offset the medical expenses Casey incurred. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than $44,000 had been raised.
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