An NFL reporter is sharing his personal tragedy with the world.
Doug Kyed, a reporter for the Boston Herald, has announced the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Hallie.
He shared the tragic news in a heart-wrenching Instagram post, posting a collection of photos from the little one’s life.
“Hallie died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday morning as Jen and I held her hands in bed,” Kyed began an Instagram post on January 22.
“We’re completely lost and heartbroken without Hallie.”
“Our lives will never be the same,” his caption continued.
“Hallie was a special kid, and she made a positive impact on so many people she met,” he wrote. “We were lucky to be her parents, and Olivia was fortunate to have the best baby sister.”
Hallie was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in April 2023.
Kyed went on to share that his toddler recently relapsed after a bone marrow transplant, saying her chemotherapy treatments stopped working.
“We knew the prognosis was poor when she relapsed after her bone marrow transplant, so the whole family spent special time at the hospital last week, but we held out hope for remission because of how brave, strong and resilient Hallie had been through her entire nine-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia and all of its complications,” Doug wrote.
He continued, “Unfortunately, chemotherapy after transplant was ineffective, and her aggressive form of leukemia had grown out of control by the time she started a trial treatment.”
Kyed went on to list the sweet nicknames he has for his baby girl, including “Hal,” “my koala baby,” “my little Hallie Bear,” and “my Sour Patch Kid.”
According to her dad, Hallie’s interests included, painting, “having an assortment of chips,” wearing rain boots, and spending time with her family.
“If you can take anything from Hallie today, it’s to know exactly what you want and to be persistent in asking for it, whether it’s going on a walk, ride in the car or wearing one particular Disney dress (usually Cruella),” he continued in his caption.
“I’ll miss rubbing her hair and kissing her head and telling her I love her the most.”
When Hallie was first diagnosed with cancer, Kyed revealed that her symptoms were a rash and swollen lymph nodes.
Physicians initially thought it was just an infection and prescribed antibiotics.
“After five days, the rash was still there, and we noticed some odd bruising on her legs and a distended stomach,” Kyed told his followers on Instagram in April 2023.
After undergoing bloodwork, Hallie was then admitted to Boston Children’s Hospital where she began receiving chemotherapy.
According to the National Cancer Institute, acute myeloid leukemia is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes a large number of abnormal white blood cells.
While AML is the second most common pediatric blood cancer, it’s still relatively rare
Dr. Richard Aplenc, a physician-scientist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia previously told TODAY.com that there are approximately 500 children a year between the ages of 0 and 14 that are diagnosed with AML.
Doug promised to keep fans updated on Hallie’s memorial services, which he posted about on Tuesday.
“For anyone who wants to say hi & goodbye, we’re holding a wake for Hallie on Friday, January 26, 4-7 pm, at Oteri Funeral Home in Franklin,” he and his wife, Jen, wrote in a joint Instagram post.
“Wear whatever you’d like. Hallie loved pink and sparkles and wouldn’t care about black.”
“In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund,” their caption continued.
“Donations will help accelerate critical research to help save kids like Hallie,” they wrote. “Donations will be tripled through February 29.”
The couple also clarified that “a funeral will be held separately & private to family.”
They went on to thank the public for all of their support throughout this journey, clearly touched by strangers’ involvement in their story.
“Thank you all for the outpouring of kind words & support 🤍,” their caption concluded.