Katie Prager, half of the couple whose story paralleled John Green’s best-selling novel “Fault in Our Stars” has died at the age of 26.
Prager was surrounded by loved ones when she died from cystic fibrosis in a Kentucky hospital on the morning of Sept. 21.---just five days after her husband Dalton, 25, died from the same illness.
“Dalton was waiting with open arms, as well as both her grandmother’s (sic) and a host of family and friends that have gone before her,” her mother, Debbie, wrote on Facebook. “I know it is selfish to be sad, I had her so many days, but she is in the arms of Jesus today and she can breathe without oxygen, she no longer has to do dialysis and He has taken away all the pain she endured.”
Their common struggles with the life-threatening genetic disease brought Katie and Dalton together in 2009 via Facebook. They married two years later.
“I knew that there was a possibility that we would get sicker and something could happen,” Katie told People magazine. “I just told Dalton I'd rather have somebody that I was totally in love with for five years, than be either lonely or not as happy with somebody for 20 years.”
Katie lived in Kentucky, while Dalton resided in Missouri. The pair hadn’t seen each other since July on for their five-year wedding anniversary and were planning to reunite last week, but Dalton was too sick to fly.
The Washington Post reported that the couple FaceTimed before Dalton’s death.
“My angel, my best friend, the love of my life, my husband went to be with the Lord our God today,” Katie wrote on Facebook following his death. “Dalton fought a long hard battle with Cystic Fibrosis. He was a courageous fighter and ‘give up’ wasn’t in his vocabulary.”
His funeral was held on Wednesday.
Loved ones of the couple have created separate fundraising pages to offset the costs of end-of-life and funeral expenses.
To donate to Katie Prager’s page, click here.
To donate to Dalton Prager’s page, click here.
