US Journalist Rene Marsh Loses Two-Year-Old Son To Brain Cancer

Rene Marsh, a journalist working with CNN, announced that her two-year-old son Blake, who had been battling cancer, passed away on April 14.

In December 2019, Blake was diagnosed with brain cancer. On Thursday (April 15), Marsh took to Instagram to share a note for her son which also included photos of Blake over the years. "To my dear sweet Blake aka 'Blakey'," she wrote. "In your 25 months on earth you taught me how much strength I had stored up in reserve that I didn't know I had. You taught me endurance," she added writing about his untimely death. "You taught me a depth of love I have never experienced. You inspired me to keep going when I wanted to give up. You helped me prioritize what is truly important in this life," she further wrote.

Until we meet again my sweet son Blake 💙🕊3/14/19 - 4/14/21 💙🕊https://t.co/dYxTris77Z pic.twitter.com/VzEGAcvENS

— Rene Marsh (@Rene_MarshCNN) April 15, 2021

Marsh and her attorney husband Kedric Payne welcomed baby Blake in March 2019. Since December same year, the couple has been facing numerous challenges due to their son's health and also had to deal with the COVID-19 threat. "Living through a pandemic, as a mom of a child with a cancer diagnosis, is terrifying," Marsh wrote in an opinion piece in June 2020. She urged people, "Wearing a mask isn't political. It could protect my son's life."

In the Instagram note, the journalist wrote that her son's special skills included "hugging and kissing on demand," in addition to "top notch" dance moves. She went on to write that she "lost all my dreams and hopes that a mom has for her son," and shared. "I lost my motherhood and I'm mourning it all."

Rene concluded the piece by saying she will be "dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer" for the rest of her life and that Blake's "life was not in vain."

Who is Rene Marsh?

Marsh is a correspondent working with CNN, based in the network's Washington bureau. She joined the network in 2012 and currently reports on all issues related to aviation and transportation. She has previously reported on the crash of Asiana flight 214, the US Supreme Court Affordable Care Act and same sex marriage decisions, in addition to breaking news stories including the 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes, Superstorm Sandy and the tragedies at Sandy Hook among others. Prior to CNN, Marsh was a general assignment correspondent for WSVN in Miami, Florida

Feature Image Credit: E! Online