It would be just be months later that Derek’s life dwindled away slowly, day by day.
French used to hold her son while he lay medicated on their couch. He was forced to spend nearly the entire day on his side.
“I was exhausted beyond belief but I had to do this. He would call my name and always expected me to be there,” said French.
Just days after that photo was taken, Cyndie held her son in her arms and rocked him peacefully to sleep, singing in his ear. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.”
Her friends circled around her, crying and consoling her while she kissed Derek’s forehead as he passed away in her arms.
Byer would later go on to win a Pulitzer Prize for the feature photography in 2007.
It was a project that touched Byer so very deeply that she started advocating for families of loved ones with cancer so they didn’t have to struggle the same way Cyndie French did while losing her young son.
Cancer an evil disease that has affected so many families around the world and Byer managed to capture a mother’s final moments with her son in a way that words cannot do justice.
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