There was no doubt that Lily was frail. How can someone so small cope with so much? How long can she survive on just a salt solution? That night at 12 midnight we all gave her a round of applause for lasting 7weeks. We were so proud of her. We lit the candle on her cake and made a wish. It was very special and we were very proud parents. However we didn't realise that we would light that same candle two more times that day! Lily perked up once she had a good night sleep. She had a good colour and was doing her normal reflexes. We thanked her for waiting until the morning to say goodbye to her sisters.

The family rallied around and a few friends called to say goodbye on Wednesday but Lily had different plans. She was weak but going nowhere. She had her professional support people shocked. Thursday was the same with more tears and goodbyes but she still woke up full of frolic on Friday morning. Thinking back now we all agree them last few days were probably her most wakeful of her 53 days. It was as if she was giving us as much precious memories as possible.

The saying is that people are often waiting for something before they pass. But we couldn't figure out what she was waiting for. We were all here. We had said our goodbyes again and again. We were ready, to a point, to let her go so she would not suffer any longer. My sister decided that she was waiting to wear the Mayo jersey and bright pink lipstick! But even after achieving both those things she was happy to stay with us for another two days.