A 49ers player is grieving the loss of their daughter, who was 23 months old. On Tuesday, October 29, 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward revealed the death of his daughter, Amani Joy. His fiancée Monique Cook and his kid were only a few weeks away from turning two.
“We are devastated that Amani Joy, our lovely newborn girl, died early on Monday. “Her joyful spirit made us smile from ear to ear, and she was the best blessing we could have asked for,” Ward posted on Instagram.
She instilled in us the values of patience, trust, and optimism. She truly displayed courage and strength for us. She triumphed over hardship early in life and was constantly joyful, beaming up every room with her smile”
Amani was identified in utero as having a cardiac abnormality and Down syndrome, according to SFGate. Before she was six months old, she had heart surgery after being born five weeks early. In honour of World Down Syndrome Day earlier this year, Ward wrote a post on Instagram devoted to his daughter.
“I couldn’t have hoped for a greater blessing than Amani Joy Ward. I now see that Down syndrome is really a gift from God, whereas before I thought it was a disability,” he wrote. “I’ve learnt patience and how to let things go by being Amani’s father. Although we had no control over whether she had Trisomy 21, we did have influence over how we felt about it.