Annika would not believe it but her TikTok videos have exceeded 40 million unique views! She doesn't know because she died.
Annika was 27 years old when she sought medical assistance for what she thought was an infection in her eye, only to find out she had Stage 4 of a rare form of cancer. Her type of cancer had only 200 cases documented worldwide.
She started making and then posting videos on social media under the title "And Also Annika" with the subtitle, "Just a girl living with cancer and documenting that journey here."
As an end of life doula, I sat with Annika's very sweet and gentle dad just three weeks after her death and listened deeply. It was a gift.
He isn't ready to watch the videos yet, but he gave me permission to write about them and his beloved daughter. He was fully aware and proud that her videos garnered a huge social media following, leaving an amazing legacy.
I planned to watch a handful of them but that was not possible. I was glued to my screen for 3 hours, watching 54 videos.
She chose titles for each video such as How I Lost My Eye, How I Get Through My MRI's, My Prognosis, Wigs, This is Serious, My Fortnight Cover, New Lumps, Eating Popcorn, About the Flap on My Face, Give Cancer the Middle Finger, Day by Day, and Let's Do Some Cardio.
My favorite one did not garner a huge amount of views, only 241k. It is titled What Caused My Cancer.
Annika showed up with humor, smarts, sorrow, and acceptance. She had an amazing ability to reason things out and apply her intelligence and heart to all she was going through in equal measure.
After two rounds of chemo and radiation, when the tumors just kept ferociously spreading she applied her mental steadiness to planning for her death.
She knew what she wanted to say and what she wanted to leave left unsaid. The millions of views are evidence that her life and death touched so many of us.
I am forever inspired by her light and inimitable grace. She gave us a window into how it is done. All respect and love, Annika! Thank you and bless you!
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