Still holding on. Rory Feek shared a photo on Friday, March 4, of his eldest daughter, Heidi, holding the hand of his ailing wife, Joey Feek, after he wrote this week that she’s said her goodbyes to the family.
The heartrending image, which Rory posted to their Facebook page, didn’t show Heidi and Joey’s faces, but captured an affectionate moment between the mother and stepdaughter.
“…our oldest daughter Heidi by her mama’s side last night,” Rory captioned the snap. “Holding on and letting go.”
After a season of blogging about his wife’s deteriorating health, the country singer wrote on Monday, February 29, that Joey had said her final goodbyes to her loved ones.
“Joey gathered her family together around her and she said goodbye to each of them… to her mother and father and her three sisters,” Rory revealed on Monday. “There were lots of tears as she explained to each one how much she loved them and that she was going home soon. That her time here was done and she was going to go to sleep soon.”
In addition to her parents and siblings, Joey also gave one special last kiss to her 2-year-old daughter, Indiana. “I set our little Indy on Joey’s lap and we all cried with my wife as she told her how much her mama loved her and, ‘…you be a big girl for your papa… and that mama will be watching over you,'” Rory wrote. “And then she pulled Indiana up and she kissed her. One last kiss.”
Rory has documented the family’s ups and downs in detail since the country songstress, age 40, was diagnosed with stage IV cervical cancer last June. In October, Joey stopped all chemotherapy treatments and entered hospice care the following month. “Sometimes there just aren’t enough surgeries — or doctors — or chemotherapies — or prayers,” Rory wrote at the time. “And you have to wipe the tears from your cheeks and say the words that you were hoping to never have to say … Enough.”
Since then, the Feeks have received an outpouring of support and celebrated several very special holidays together, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Indiana’s birthday. The pair exchanged vows in 2002, and welcomed their baby girl in February 2014. They were also nominated for a Grammy under the category of Best Country Duo/Group Performance, but lost to Little Big Town.
“The morning after the award show, Joey looked into my eyes and said, ‘I’m sorry we didn’t win us a Grammy,’” Rory wrote last month of the experience. “I smiled and said, ‘that’s OK.’ Then jokingly, I added, ‘… there’s always next year.’ She smiled back at me and said, ‘yes … next year.'”
