Joey Feek Cancer Update: Joey Says Final Goodbyes To Family, Gives Daughter One Last Kiss

Joey Feek has been battling cancer since she was diagnosed in May 2014. She’s fought a fierce battle, but now it seems the end is near.

On Monday, February 29, Joey’s husband and duet partner Rory Feek shared the most heartbreaking post yet on his blog This Life I Live. He revealed that his wife has decided “enough is enough,” and she is ready to stop fighting.

“Joey has done all she set out to do… even right to the very end, and by sheer will-power (and God’s grace), she was still here to to see our baby’s 2nd birthday,” Rory wrote. “Over the last number of weeks her pain had gotten worse and her health had continued to decline rapidly. And not long after Indy’s birthday my wife decided that ‘enough is enough.’ She was ready to stop fighting and she told me so. She said the flowers would soon be blooming back in Tennessee. It’s time to go home.”

In The Time That You Gave Me from Hickory Films on Vimeo.

In December, Joey revealed her goal for the New Year: she wanted to live through February. The country music duo’s last album was released on February 12, the Grammy Awards took place on February 15 (the couple was nominated for Best Country Duo), and Indiana’s second birthday was on February 17. Joey wanted to live to see each of these milestones take place, and she did. She fought through the pain, made it to her goal, and now she is ready to end this battle once and for all.

Joey Feek’s health had been declining for months now, but she continued to hang on. However, she knew the end was near, and before she was gone, she made sure to gather her family to say her final goodbyes.

“Joey gathered her family together around her and she said goodbye to each of them… to her mother and father and her three sisters,” Rory wrote. “There were lots of tears as she explained to each one how much she loved them and that she was going to be going home soon. That her time here was done and she was going to go to sleep soon.”

Although it was hard to say goodbye to her parents and sisters, saying goodbye to her little girl was the most difficult thing she ever had to do. Rory said Joey asked him to bring in Indiana, and Joey explained to her that she would always be watching over her from Heaven.

“And then she asked me to bring our baby in. And so… I set our little Indy on Joey’s lap and we all cried with my wife as she told her how much her mama loved her and, ‘…you be a big girl for your papa… and that mama will be watching over you.’ And then she pulled Indiana up and she kissed her. One last kiss.”

Joey said her goodbyes a few days ago, and since then her body has been shutting down quickly while she sleeps. Although Joey’s battle with cancer has been a roller coaster ride, her hospice nurse says this is the end. She has only a few days left at the most.

“A few more days… In the 40 short years that Joey has lived, my bride has accomplished many great things… she’s lived a very full life,” Rory wrote. “But even more than that, she has loved those around her greatly and been loved greatly in return. I can honestly say that Joey’s isn’t just a life well-lived, it’s a life well-loved.”

“God only gives each of us a certain amount of time to be on this earth and every day when we wake up, we get to decide how we are going to spend those precious minutes and hours. There are no do-overs, no second-chances, no next-time-around’s to get it right. Joey knew this and she has made each and every day count. One of the last things Joey said before she drifted into the deep sleep she’s been in for a few days now is, ‘I have no regrets… I can honestly say, that I have done everything I wanted to do and lived the life I always wanted to live.'”

Rory ended his heartbreaking post by thanking everyone who followed his wife’s journey.

“And thank you to all who have followed my wife’s beautiful journey. Who are still following. Though our hearts are heavy we all need to do our best to remember that this is not the end. It’s only the beginning.

“When Joey takes her last breath here… she will take her first breath there.

“In Heaven.”

[Photo via This Life I Live]