When we lose someone close to us, it can be very isolating. Many people don’t know how to support us, so they disappear. For one 8-year-old who lost her mom to an 11-year fight with brain cancer, the isolating effects of having a severely ill family member were prevalent, as she had never even had a birthday party. That’s why her sister planned a party, but when only one person responded to the invitation, the sister took to TikTok, and an overwhelming number of strangers helped an 8-year-old to have the birthday party of a lifetime.
An Older Sister Plans a Birthday Party
Twenty-eight-year-old Chloe Sexton of Memphis, Tennessee lost her mom, Jennifer to brain cancer in April of 2022, after witnessing the 11-year battle. But Chloe didn’t only lose her mom, Jennifer, she became the legal guardian of her 8-year-old sister, Charlotte. And in addition to grieving the loss of her mother, Charlotte had to move schools to go live with her big sister.
Thankfully, her big sister is one who will go above and beyond to love and care for Charlotte. So in an attempt to support the 8-year-old who had never had a birthday party because her mother had been battling brain cancer for her entire life, Chloe planned ahead to create a special day for Charlotte. The sisters sent out the invitations early and waited for responses from Charlotte’s classmates. Even though Charlotte was new to the school, because many of the invitees’ families knew what Charlotte had been through, it seemed likely that many would respond in support.
But Chloe waited and waited, and in the end, she only received one response. This broke this big sister’s heart; so she created a video and posted it to TikTok.
“I sent the invites out early and I heard nothing back except from one person,” explained Chloe. “It upset me that I couldn’t give her the birthday I wanted to.”
Watch Chloe talk about what happened here:
@chloebluffcakes Just go to the birthday party youre invited to 🥺 #birthday #grief #kids ♬ original sound – Chloe
In the video that Chloe recorded on the 4th of July, she speaks through crying words saying, “My mom should be doing this.” This caring older sister who is also grieving is working for hours on DIY projects to make her sister’s party “phenomenal,” but she can’t control the number of people who come.
That’s where people who saw the video and strangers helped an 8-year-old celebrate…