THOMASVILLE -- Kate Thornton, a 5-year-old Thomasville girl whose struggle with cancer led to an outpouring of community support, died Sunday morning, her Godmother said Sunday.
She was surrounded by family in a home bought to keep them all under one roof in her last days, said Kat Manzella, her Godmother and an organizer of a non-profit in the child's name, Kisses4Kate.
Kate was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 3 years old. She had a bone-marrow transplant earlier this year, but the family found out last month that the transplant was not successful.
Her battle with cancer was widely reported by the local media as the Kisses4Kate foundation raised money to buy a new house for the family.
Kate lived in a 1,200 square-foot home along with her parents and four siblings. Because she was sick and required a lot of medical equipment around her, it was difficult for her to be home with the rest of her family. When she was discharged from Brenner's Children's Hospital for the last time Aug. 27, she went with her mother to her grandparent's home in Trinity.
Kisses4Kate was able to put down half the money for a four-bedroom home in the Ledford area of Davidson County, and an anonymous donor stepped forward to guarantee the remainder of the loan, which allowed the family to move in.
The family moved in Friday night. Her mother carried Kate across the threshold and into her room, which volunteers had painted in a princess motif, Manzella said.
Manzella said she was grateful that Kate was lucid enough- - despite the pain of her illness -- to see the things that she wanted to have in her room, and to be surrounded by a sense of beauty.
But it was clear by Saturday that her body was not strong enough to go on much longer, Manzella said.
Manzella said the family is heartbroken, but also grateful for how the community has embraced them with so much love.
The Kisses4Kate organization will continue in Kate's name, Manzella said. The organization's goal will be to help children whose situation is similar to Kate's, and to fund research to fight cancer, she said.
"This is going to be her legacy," Manzella said. "We're going to carry on in her name."
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