Daughter Receives Flowers On Her Birthday From Dad Who Died Of Cancer

Twitter | Bailey Sellers‏

When Michael Sellers got the devastating news that he had pancreatic cancer in early 2013, he knew time with his family would be short. So the father of four had to work to do: He wanted to make sure his children knew how much he loved them after he was gone.

Working with his wife, Kristy, he gathered mementos to share with each of his children. All of his children received an embroidered handkerchief that Sellers prayed over. He asked his two oldest daughters, Morgan and Abigail, to use them some day in their wedding bouquets.

Sellers made special plans for his youngest daughter, Bailey, who was 16 at the time of his diagnosis. Sellers pre-ordered flowers to be delivered to Bailey from a local flower shop every year on her birthday until she turned 21.

“We were sitting on the couch — and it was about a month before he passed away — and he said he had already done it. That this was what his plans were,” Kristy Sellers told “Good Morning America.” “He said, ‘I’m going to do it until her 21st birthday. And if she’s married, ask her significant other to send her flowers in remembrance of me.”

Bailey had formed a special bond her with her dad; she even dropped out of high school and began homeschooling after his diagnosis so she could help take care of him.

Sadly, Michael Sellers died on August 25, 2013 at the age of 56.

Just a few months later, though, on November 26, 2013, Bailey got quite the surprise for her birthday: a beautiful arrangement of flowers with a card that read “I loved you first…happy 17th! Love, Dad.”

And just as he planned, Sellers’ flowers arrived each year for his daughter’s birthday.

This year marked Bailey’s 21st birthday — a bittersweet milestone for the daughter who misses her father.

This last bouquet of flowers brought mixed emotions for Bailey.

“Every year I looked forward to my birthday because I felt like he was still here with me but this is the last year I get them so it’s so heart breaking,” she wrote in a tweet.

Her tweets on her 21st birthday went viral, with thousands of views and responses:

We wish Bailey a happy belated 21st birthday and thank her for sharing her dad’s story with the world!

 

Family & Parenting, Good News, News
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About the Author
Marie Rossiter
Marie is a freelance writer and content creator with more than 20 years of experience in journalism. She lives in southwest Ohio with her husband and is almost a full-fledged empty nest mom of two daughters. She loves music, reading, word games, and Walt Disney World.

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