A young West Australian who captured the hearts of people across the nation has tragically lost his life following a gruelling battle with cancer.
Levi Tracy, 19, peacefully passed away on Tuesday morning alongside his family at Fiona Stanley Hospital.
Levi was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkins T-Cell Lymphoma when he was just seven years old and underwent two and a half years of chemotherapy which put him into remission.
Sadly, 10 years later when Levi was supposed to be out enjoying his adolescence, he was instead diagnosed with cancer again, this time with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.
Over the past two years, his family have rallied behind him to help him find a blood stem cell match — a form of bone marrow transplant — to treat his cancer.
This was when the viral Facebook page Lifeline for Levi was born, urging people to sign up to donate blood and get tested to potentially save Levi’s life.
The page — which has amassed more than 3000 members — was created by Levi’s father Mark dedicated to supporting the young teen throughout his journey.
Family members have posted updates every day documenting Levi’s journey, with each post racking up hundreds of likes, shares and comments.
A GoFundMe was launched by friends of the Tracy family to help support Levi’s parents while they take time off work and help with other costs.
The fundraiser — which has raised an incredible $17,700 with more than 250 donations — revealed the numerous procedures the teenager had to endure in his fight over the past two years.
Despite the immense support, Levi’s condition was still deteriorating and the infection was extremely exhausting on his body.
On Wednesday, an update was shared that Levi was really struggling and that he had made the brave decision to be placed into a coma. The plan was for him to spend three to five days on life support to give his body a much-needed rest.
Tragically, five days later, Levi’s father shared the devastating update that his son had passed.
“This day was never meant to arrive,” the emotional post began.
“This morning at 9:15am our brave warrior, our Mighty Fighting Tiger gained his wings. Levi passed away peacefully this morning with Nikki and Nikita and myself by his side.
“His lungs were no longer able to cope and his blood pressure dropped to unsupportable levels. In the end his heart just simply stopped. The load on his entire body was just too much. The infection in his lungs was the cause, and triggered everything else.
“He fought a massive fight and never gave up, the Mountain was just too big. The respect he earned from the ICU team was immense as he courageously pushed himself beyond all of their predictions and in the end they called him a Champion.”
Mark requested his thousands of supporters stay present on the Facebook page as the family plans to transition it over time to a page that honours Levi’s life and legacy.
“We are broken beyond compare. We have no idea how to move forward and keep going, but we will find a way. Levi would want that,” Mark wrote.
Hundreds of Levi’s supporters have flooded the comments to send their condolences to the grieving family.
One person commented: “I am crying like a baby for this beautiful warrior, Levi, and his beautiful family. Xx. Like thousands of other people I have admired his strength, and their,determination and fight to the end . Xx”
“My heart is breaking for you all 😔 I have followed Levi’s journey and would check my Facebook for updates ❤️ RIP Levi ❤️” another person said.
Speaking to PerthNow, Mark said that Levi’s warm personality “touched people deeply”.
“Levi was fun. He was loyal, strong, funny, kind, humble, gentle, loving,” he said.
“He will be remembered as funny and engaging. His warmth and personality transcended boundaries and touched people deeply and left a lasting legacy.
“Don’t waste time.”