Spanish social media influencer Elena Huelva has died days after posting a tear-jerking final Instagram video message to millions of her follower. She was only 20 years old and was battling cancer. Huelva's death was confirmed by her family via an Instagram Story shared on her account on Tuesday, according to El Mundo.
The final video clip posted by Huelva amassed over 970,000 likes as they grieve for the brave youngster's demise. In the final clip, Huelva told her fans about her worsening condition and that the cancer had spread to her windpipe. She also told them that her days were numbered as she was fast succumbing to the disease.
Gone Too Soon
The announcement of Huelva's death came after shared a note in her Instagram Stories that simply said, "I love you..." "Since this morning, Elena has been dancing for you and looking at you from her star. Thank you for everything," the message said along with the hashtag Huelva often used on social media: #misganasganan.
According to a New York Post report, the Seville social media celebrity died owing to complications from Ewing sarcoma, a rare kind of bone cancer that she had battled throughout her teens, since being diagnosed in 2016.
Huelva used Instagram to document her sad cancer experience. She gained over 950,000 followers there, many of whom were motivated by her ability to remain so upbeat despite her illness.
In her most recent video, which was shot from her hospital bed, Huelva bid adieu to her followers after explaining that her situation had considerably worsened.
Huelva, who had been intubated, lamented, "Things are not going well," while trying to hold back her tears. "They found more disease in my windpipe, which is very dangerous, as you know, because that's where we breathe."
The brave Spaniard added that she didn't "need to say much more."
Huelva asserted that she intended to "make it apparent that I've already won" despite the bleak outlook.
"I know that my life was not in vain, because I fought and got what I wanted," declared the patient, referring to her wish to raise awareness about the disease.
Brave Till Her Last Breath
Despite her deteriorating health, the influencer was still permitted to spend Christmas at home with her family, which included her parents Manuel and Emi and her older sister Emi, 26.
Shortly before her death, on January 1, Huelva star told fans that she was struggling as she continued documenting her life with cancer. The Seville, Spain native posted a photo of her hands holding those of her loved ones and shared a message in the caption in Spanish.
"Today I woke up not in the best way, in fact, nothing good, a big scare," the caption read. "These are very difficult days, they are becoming more and more complicated, but as you know I am stronger, and more complicated!"
"My desires win," Huelva concluded the post, which is also the catchphrase of her 2022 book.
News of her death was devastating to her Instagram followers, with one heartbroken user saying, "I can't believe it rest in peace darling."
"Rest in peace my love, you have been an example of struggle and improvement," mourned another.
In December 2019, Huelva informed her followers of her cancer diagnosis. "It really has been a roller coaster," she said with a picture of herself holding a stuffed animal while lying in a hospital bed. "It started with bad news, a bad bug had come into my life, and I had to kill it somehow."
"I felt fear, insecurities, I kept asking questions like; Why me? Am I strong enough to kill him? And in a few days after finding out, I used all my strength to defeat him and show him that I was stronger than him," she added.
Following her death, other prominent Spanish celebrities including musician Manuel Carrasco, TV host Sara Carbonero, and actress Ana Obregón, whose son also died from Ewing sarcoma, paid tribute to the late Instagram sensation.
