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WARNING: Graphic content
This photo of a teenage girl resting her head on her boyfriend’s chest before doctors switched off his life-support machine has gone viral.
Devastated Stephanie Ray (15), from Dudley in England, had to bid her boyfriend Blake Ward (16) farewell after he’d been swept out to sea by a riptide on Tuesday 31 July, Daily Post reports.
The 15-year-old refused to leave her beloved boyfriend’s side and decided to lie down next to him before he took his last breath.
Stephanie took to Facebook recently to share the heartbreaking snap.
“Today’s been the hardest day for me and it’ll be a day I’ll never be able to forget,” she wrote.
“As some of you may know Blake was involved in a terrible accident on Tuesday. I’ve been by his side through it all and I haven’t left him. Blake was a loving, caring person and would do anything for anyone.
“We were told yesterday that Blake would never recover and his brain was too damaged and we had to make the hard decision of turning his machine off and let him go.”
The teen told how important Blake was to her, even though they had their “ups and downs”.
“Blake was someone special to me and we had something special and we’ll always have that.
“Blake and I had our ups and downs but we always got through them.
“But just know Blake wasn’t in any pain and he passed away with his family around him and he’ll forever be missed.
“He’ll always have a special place in my heart and I’ll never forget you Blake, fly high my baby boy and I’m going to make you proud, love you and I always will,” she wrote.
Blake was one of three boys who were rescued from the sea near Tywyn, Wales where he was on holiday with his family, Mirror News reports.
The teenager was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s hospital where he was placed on life support.
On Saturday 4 August, Blake’s next of kin along with doctors decided to switch off his life-support machine, according to Daily Mail. The condition of the other teenagers isn’t known.
Stephanie and a few of Blake’s friends have started a GoFundMe page to help his family pay for his funeral.
Sources: metro.co.uk, dailmail.co.uk, mirror.co.uk, dailypost.co.uk
