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Sunday, December 29, 2002

First published July 14, 2002
By Andy Starnes

Katie Westbrook's mother, Beth, crawled into bed with her while her daughter slept fitfully. Katie, who had a rare bone cancer, was able to spend her final days at home with the help of Dr. Regina Jakacki. Katie died at age 15 on June 3, 2001, and Jakacki's experience with her and other dying children inspired the doctor to join Beth Westbrook in lobbying for a pediatric hospice program in Pittsburgh. Starnes: "I had been chronicling Katie and Beth for close to two years at this point. I had seen Beth crawl in on previous occasions, and I knew I wanted to get a photo like that to show their relationship. I knew it was close to the end for Katie, and it was also a very strong statement of Beth saying goodbye. What I took away from it was, don't take any relationships for granted and tell the people you love that you love them." The story.