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A dying mother asked her friend to take her six children before she tragically lost her battle with breast cancer. 

Single mother Beth Laitkep was lying in a hospital bed in Virginia when she asked her friend Stephanie Culley, 39, to take her children. 

Culley told The Washington Post that Laitkep asked her: '"Will you take my babies? Will you do this for me?''

'I told her yes, I would do it in a heartbeat,' Culley said. 

 

 

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Single mother, Beth Laitkep was lying in a hospital bed in Virginia when she asked her friend Stephanie Culley, 39, to take her six children: Left to right, Will, 15, Selena, 14, Jaxon, 11, two-year-old Ace, Dallas, 10, and five-year-old Lily

Laitkep found out she had breast cancer in 2014, when she was pregnant with her youngest son, Ace. 

Ace was delivered by emergency C-section at 30 weeks, so that Laitkep could begin aggressive chemotherapy treatments, Culley told the Post. 

Laitkep's other children are Will, 15, Selena, 14, Jaxon, 11, Dallas, 10, and five-year-old Lily. Ace turned two Sunday.

The treatments appeared to be working over the course of a year and Laitkep and her children moved from Texas to Virginia. 

But a year ago, Laitkep received devastating news that the cancer had come back and not only did it spread to her bones, but it had spread to her brain and spine. 

Culley and Laitkep had been friends since high school and Culley told the Post that she started helping Laitkep with the house, taking her to doctor appointments and, then, sitting by her bedside when the medicine was no longer helping.

'The doctor told me that there was nothing that could be done,' Culley told the newspaper. 'That's when we started talking about the kids.' 

 

 

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Culley (left) said they unanimously decided that she and her husband, Donnie (right), would 'take all of them and keep them all together as our family'

 

Laitkep's dying wish was for her children (pictured) to be cared for in the same way she would have cared for them and she didn't want them to be split up

The father to the older children wasn't in the 'picture' and the younger children's father had left Laitkep as she was battling cancer, Culley told the Washington Post. 

Laitkep's dying wish was for her children to be cared for in the same way she would have cared for them and she didn't want them to be split up. 

Culley told the Post that they brought the kids to the hospital to discuss the matter.

'We said, "If you do not get a miracle for mommy, who do you want?" They all pointed to me. That melted my heart.'

Culley said they unanimously decided that she and her husband, Donnie, would 'take all of them and keep them all together as our family'.

Laitkep died at 39 on May 19 and the couple, who have three children of their own, took the kids into their home. 

The family's GoFundMe page has raised more than $26,000, as of Sunday afternoon.

Culley told the Post that she and her husband have temporary custody of the six children and are set to appear in court this month to obtain permanent custody. 

She said her friend's death was 'heartbreaking' and 'the most difficult thing I have ever watched'.

At Laitkep's funeral, the entire family showed up in pink and the girls wore matching bows in their hair.

'I feel like our life is complete now. Those six kids were the six links we were missing from our lives,' Culley said.