Brave 12-year-old Rosy Ibotson lost her battle with cancer last week, but on the night before she died, her mother revealed that her daughter was absolutely thrilled to receive a message from her pop idols, 5 Seconds of Summer.
Before her death, Rosy had expressed concern that not many people would know that she ever lived. Thanks to her energetic cousin and the wildly popular Australian group, Rosy became known to hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps millions.
Rosy, from Ireland's West Cork village of Rossmore, had battled cancer since infancy and was a huge fan of 5 Seconds of Summer. She had a rare condition called Li Fraumeni syndrome, which predisposes its sufferers to various forms of cancer, reported The Southern Star.
Li Fraumeni Syndrome is believed to affect only 400 families in the world - Rosy's mom, Beth Ibotson, is herself a survivor of breast cancer, and in 2006 the family lost Rosy's older sister Poppy to cancer.
Rosy was only 18 months old when she was diagnosed with - and successfully treated for - a bladder tumor. At age nine, she was diagnosed with a bone tumor in her left leg.
Over the years, Rosy endured intensive chemotherapy, long hospital stays and excruciating pain, before finally having her leg amputated in 2012.
The young girl fought through the ordeal and returned to primary school. However, the cancer returned and spread to her spine, paralyzing her from the waist down. In November, she lost the use of her remaining leg.
"It was devastating for her-she was a very independent girl," Beth told The Southern Star.
During a visit to the family home, Rosy's cousin Fay was upset to see Rosy so down about losing her independence and mobility. On her return to the U.K., Fay decided to do something to put a smile back on Rosy's face.
"She decided to start a Twitter campaign-it was a secret and it gained momentum," Beth explained.
"It touched people and they shared the story. In some way, Rosy's favorite group, 5 Seconds of Summer, heard about Rosy and a member of the band, Michael Clifford, tweeted her."
"Oh my goodness, she was delighted! Fay called the night before Rosy passed away to tell her to check her account, and there it was -the message from Michael."
"He said he hoped that he would be able to meet her soon, and that was lovely!"
The Australian wrote: "Hi Rosy. You're awesome. I think you're very, very awesome. Hopefully meet you soon!"
Rosy's Twitter account replied with "Rosy's cousin Fay here. Rosy is over the moon with her tweet from @Michael5SOS - Thank you so, so much, dreams can come true."
Michael's next tweet, "Big fan of ours passed away the other night and I'm sad to say she'll be missed. #RIPRosy" was re-tweeted more than 63,000 times, and "favorited" by Michael's fans over 100,000 times. It meant the hashtag #RIPRosy was trending on Twitter around the world.
"She was worried that she was going to pass away and be unknown, and not be remembered but now she will be remembered by a lot of people--even people who didn't meet her--and that is very special!" her mother said.
