Doug Kyed, a Patriots beat reporter for the Boston Herald, announced the death of his 2-year-old daughter on Monday, nine months after she was diagnosed with leukemia.
In the Instagram post, Kyed said he and wife Jen are “completely lost and heartbroken” after the tragic loss of Hallie, who died “peacefully in her sleep” on Sunday morning as the parents held her hands.
“We’re completely lost and heartbroken without Hallie,” Kyed said in the post paired with a series of photos featuring Hallie, Jen and older daughter Olivia. “Our lives will never be the same. Hallie was a special kid, and she made a positive impact on so many people she met. We were lucky to be her parents and Olivia was fortunate to have the best baby sister.”
Doug Kyed with wife Jen and oldest daughter, Olivia, and youngest daughter, Hallie.
Doug Kyed and daughter Hallie pictured together.
Kyed described his daughter’s form of leukemia as “aggressive,” detailing that chemotherapy after her successful transplant was ineffective and that it grew “out of control” before she could start her trial treatment.
Hallie relapsed last week after her bone marrow transplant.
“Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital did everything they could to help Hallie, and she beat AML every day for over nine months straight. Nothing could have ever prepared us for this moment when she was first diagnosed in April or after her successful transplant in October,” he wrote.
“The world is a worse place without Hallie in it,” Kyed added.
A picture of baby Hallie that father Doug Kyed posted to Instagram in light of her tragic death on Sunday.
In her own personal post, Jen wrote: “I don’t know how any of this works. I hope she woke up in an alternate universe with other versions of us and she lives a beautiful life. We will meet in our dreams. I love you forever, love bug.”
The family will be hosting a wake for Hallie on Friday, Jan. 26 from 4-7 p.m. at Oteri Funeral Home in Franklin, Mass.
A private funeral will be held separately for the family, Kyed later said in a separate Instagram post.
“Wear whatever you’d like. Hallie loved pink and sparkles and wouldn’t care about black,” he wrote.