When Kylie Myers was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 12, her last wish was to get a kitten. However, little did her family know the amazing impact the cat would have on all their lives.

Images: Mark Myers / Facebook/Smiley for Kylie

Kylie Myers had always wanted a kitten. However, it wasn’t until she discovered her cancer was terminal that her family finally gave in to her wishes. But none of them suspected that the friendly feline would turn out to be an angel in disguise.

Kylie lived with her family in Georgia. She was the youngest of four sisters. Although her parents, Robin and Mark, didn’t plan on having four kids, she was a welcome surprise to them and her three siblings Meredith, Kendall and Jenna.

From an early age, Kylie’s family found her outgoing demeanor infectious. They nicknamed her “Smiley Kylie” thanks to her talent for making them happy. She was a creative little girl who loved to sing and dance. In fact, she dreamed of one day performing on Broadway.

However, in April 2014, Kylie’s life was turned upside down. At the age of 12, she learned that she had Ewing’s Sarcoma. The disease is a rare form of cancer that occurs in soft tissue or bone. Understandably, Kylie’s family were devastated.

Nevertheless, Kylie started treatment right away. The radiation took its toll on the schoolgirl’s young body but, according to her family, she never let it get her down. “It was a brutal treatment process for her,” Kylie’s mom Robin revealed in a moving video posted to YouTube in February 2017. “But she was a master at finding ways to be joyful.”

Video footage from the time of her treatment showed Kylie singing and making jokes. In every frame she had her signature smile plastered across her face. It seemed the youngster was keen to make the best out of a terrible situation.

During this time, Kylie began asking her parents for a kitten. However, her family didn’t think it was the right moment to adopt an animal. “We already had four pets at home and we said, ‘Let’s finish radiation, let’s get back home again, and then we’ll talk about it,’” Robin explained in an interview with Mutual Rescue.

And going home soon became a real possibility. Kylie was reacting well to her radiation and had begun to walk again. She felt better in herself and had regained her appetite. So, Robin and Mark were hopeful that their little girl was on the mend.

Soon, Kylie’s last day of treatment arrived. However, it was then that doctors revealed a devastating development. They had discovered that Kylie’s cancer had spread throughout her body. “They knew at this point, she wasn’t going to make it,” her mom Robin revealed in the heartbreaking video about her daughter.

Image: Facebook/Angels Among Us Pet Rescue

When Kylie returned home, she again asked her parents if she could have a cat. Unable to deny his dying daughter her final wish, dad Mark called a local animal rescue organization. And, within an hour, a tiny foster kitten arrived at the family’s home.

Image: Facebook/Angels Among Us Pet Rescue

“We got her healthy and she was waiting on her forever home when we got a very sad call,” a post on the Angels Among Us Pet Rescue Facebook page explained. “The family was not planning to adopt a new kitten. In fact, we rushed [her] over there on loan, simply to be with Kylie during her final days on Earth.”

Image: Facebook/Angels Among Us Pet Rescue

And it seemed the little kitten had also experienced hardships in her short life. “Her eye was matted. She had just finished a flea treatment. You could tell she’d had a rough start to life,” Robin subsequently recalled in her interview with Mutual Rescue.

Kylie named the kitty Liza. Indeed, the pair bonded right away. Kylie would feed her kitten with a bottle. And when she felt tired, little Liza would snuggle up beside her and they’d drift off to sleep together.

Loyal Liza remained at Kylie’s side for the next two days. “We would move Liza and take her to the little box when we were giving Kylie medication. She’d play with my other daughters but immediately she would just jump in the bed with Kylie and crawl right back up again,” Robin revealed in the video.

Although they only knew each other a short time, both had an enormous impact on the other’s life. So, when Kylie’s final days came around, she had two final requests from her parents. She wanted her dad to help find a cure for childhood cancer and her mom to look after Liza.

Sadly, Kylie passed away on February 13, 2015. But, although she’d gone, her legacy still lived on in her family. After her passing, they founded Smiley For Kylie. The non-profit organization aimed to fund research and increase the public’s awareness of childhood cancers.

And, of course, Liza had done her bit to comfort the Myerses. “I thought at first that her rescuing was over. That she’d been there for Kylie and that was her mission. [But] that was only part of her mission,” Robin later admitted.

In February 2016 Kylie’s family marked the one-year anniversary of her passing. “I don’t know how we would have made it through the last year without [Liza] being a part of our family,” Robin said at the time. “Taking care and loving on her is a way that makes me know that I’m still doing something for Kylie.”

Although life will obviously never be the same without Kylie, her family are doing their best to honor her in the best possible way. Not only are they funding vital cancer research, but they’ve also given her beloved kitten a forever home. And while Kylie died safe in the knowledge that her family were saving Liza, they’ve since come to realize that it was the cat who saved them.