Caroline Richards, a One Direction fan, died of cancer this week. When social media star and Magcon member Carter Reynolds broke the news on Twitter, #RIPCaroline began trending as One Direction fans paid tribute to Caroline.
Caroline battled osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, which she was diagnosed with in January 2013, Hollywood Take reports. She underwent three surgeries and chemotherapy over nine months and her family helped publicize her story so she could meet her idols. She even met One Direction and threw out the first pitch at a Houston Astros game.
"She's stronger than me at times," her father, Mark Richards,told Click2Houston in September. "She's battled through a lot, she's gone through a journey that I don't think most people could."
Popcrush reports that news of her death was spread all over Twitter after Reynolds told his 1.98 million followers the news. He posted a picture he took with Caroline, writing, “I'm going to miss you and that smile of yours. You will always be in my heart. Love you beautiful.”
Reynols later wrote, “No matter how good or bad you think your life is, wake up each day and be thankful...Someone somewhere else is fighting to survive.”
#RIPCaroline is even trending on Twitter worldwide now. Here’s a few tweets from users who paid tribute to her and her struggle:
image via Twitter from Carter Reynolds
image of One Direction courtesy of Famous/ACE/INFphoto.com