After a life spent beating the odds, 25-year-old DC woman passes away, family says

Just days after featuring the touching story of 25-year-old Cheraque Martin, who spent a lifetime beating the odds and touching countless people, FOX 5 is saddened to report she has passed away.

Cheraque died at 5:20 p.m. on Sunday, according to her mother, Denise Martin Brown.

Born at 22 weeks, Cheraque fought illness after illness her entire life, including heart and lung problems as well as cerebral palsy. Back in 2009, doctors said she wouldn't live through the summer. She was just 15 at the time.

That's when the Make-A-Wish Foundation stepped in. At the Park Hyatt Hotel, Cheraque became a celebrity for the day, from the red carpet to the paparazzi to the dance floor.

"My child wakes up with a smile every day," Martin Brown said back in 2009. "There's not a day that goes by she doesn't wake up with a smile."

All those years later, Martin Brown said not much changed. Cheraque still smiled and laughed constantly despite being confined to a hospital bed in failing health.

"When they say that this is the end, nothing else they can do, you can never prepare for something like that," Martin Brown said Friday, adding that she was beyond grateful for what her daughter did for her and so many others.

After that party back in 2009, as the years went by, Cheraque became an inspiration of sorts to other people who were also battling life-threatening illnesses. They'd come by to see her or they'd call her every chance they had, her mother said. It was as if the girl who wanted nothing more than to be a celebrity actually became one all on her own.

"She had a purpose. You know her purpose was to touch people, to help heal people, share her story," her mother said. "She kept saying it's not over until God says it's over, and I'm not giving up. I'm not giving up."

A GoFundMe account has been created to help Cheraque's family with funeral expenses. To learn more about how you can help, click here.