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Toddler best man passes away

Logan Stevenson, the 2-year-old boy who touched our hearts when he served as best man at his parent's wedding, has died of complications from Fanconi anemia, the rare genetic disease that shortened his life.

He passed away on August 5, just two days after being carried down the aisle by father Sean Stevenson.

Logan's mother Christine Swidorsky wrote on Facebook: "At 8:18 my son took his last breath in my arms. I'm so sad, upset and I'm in disbelief. He is with angels, and he's in no more pain. No more sickness, no more hospitals. We love all of [you] for all your prayers."

Sean and his fiance Christine Swidorsky, were planning to wed in July next year but moved the ceremony forward so their son could be part of it.

"We want Logan in our family pictures, and we want him to see his mother and dad get married," Christine told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Logan was too sick to walk down the aisle and heavy medication meant he slept through much of it.

He wore a tiny suit for the backyard ceremony, which will doubled as a celebration of the little boy's life. It was decided not to hold it at a reception hall because it might make Logan uncomfortable to be in strange surroundings with so much noise.

Christine's daughter Isabella Johns, 13, was a bridesmaid and the couple's one-year-old daughter, Savannah, was the flower girl. Around 100 family and friends were in attendance.

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Logan's final days were spent at home wrapped in a blanket, holding his favourite stuffed bunny.

"It hurts so bad because Logan is such a loving child ... when I cry he wipes my tears away," Christine said just days before his death. "Logan is a mama's boy.

"I just am thankful that I am able to bring my son home and have time with him and hold him before he goes. So, in that sense, I feel lucky that I at least get to say goodbye to my son ... and tell him it's going to be OK."

Just after Logan's first birthday, Christine noticed he wasn't feeling well and that his lips and fingernails had turned white. She took him to the pediatrician four times before he was finally rushed to Pittsburgh children's hospital. His leukemia had progressed so far, doctors were shocked he was still alive. They immediately began chemotherapy, but it took a terrible toll on his little body.

The family recently went on a Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World, but their holiday was cut short when Logan suffered septic shock and hydration shock. Last week doctors told his parents that continuing treatment wouldn't be beneficial and sent him home, saying he would be in less pain there.

Logan's dad admitted he felt helpless, knowing what lay ahead.

"It'll be the hardest thing I'll ever do is bury my son. You know it's coming, and you can't do anything about it," he previously said.

 

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