The Ruffino family welcomed Elizabeth Diamond's children into their home after her death. (YouCaring)
A New York couple with two children of their own followed through on a promise they made to a close friend after she was diagnosed with brain cancer, and adopted her four daughters following her death.
“She said if anything ever happens to me I want you to take my girls, and I instantly said, ‘OK,’” Laura Ruffino told 7 Eyewitness News of her best friend Elizabeth Diamond.
Diamond, 40, an author, life coach and motivational speaker, was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer in August 2014.
“I woke up one morning and I was liquid. It was like a baby back in the womb,” Diamond had told WGRZ.com of her diagnosis, before her death. “They saw that my brain was hemorrhaging in two spots, they found over a dozen brain tumors.” Doctors told her that her brain tumor was inoperable and she underwent ten rounds of whole brain radiation.
“It’s been a wake-up call because you learn, I’ve learned, that the only thing that matters is the quality of your existence,” Diamond had told WGRZ.com.
Diamond moved into her mother’s home with her children to help care for them as she underwent treatment.
“As she started to weaken you can imagine the fears that I had for the girls and being without her,” Ruffino told 7 Eyewitness News. Diamond died in April and Ruffino, along with her husband Rico and two daughters, welcomed Diamond’s four children ages 5 to 12 into their family.
“Ten years ago I didn’t think this would be my life. But it is, if something gets thrown at you, you just accept the challenge and do the best you can,” Rico told 7 Eyewitness News.
The family is currently fundraising to help accommodate for their new additions, and have plans to convert their garage into two bedrooms.