Dalton Prager, one-half of the real-life Fault In Our Stars couple, passed away last Saturday afternoon, September 17. He was 25.
Dalton's wife Katie Prager and his mother Renee announced his passing through their official Facebook page.
Dalton succumbed to a genetic and life-threatening condition called cystic fibrosis (CF), which causes severe damage on lungs and the digestive system.
Katie, now 26, is also suffering from the same chronic illness.
Katie wrote, “My angel, my best friend, the love of my life, my husband went to be with the Lord our God today.
“Dalton fought a long hard battle with Cystic Fibrosis. He was a courageous fighter and 'give up' wasn't in his vocabulary.
“Thank you for all of your love, prayers and kind words that you have shown to us over the past few years. God bless each of you.”
Renee added, “Today.....September 17, 2016 at 12:56 Dalton Lee Prager joined his sister, Samantha, and grandfather, Larry, in Heaven. You may Breathe Easy now my son. You are my true hero.”
According to a report by CNN, Dalton died at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
He had been receiving medical care at the hospital's intensive care unit for two weeks before he died.
Katie was receiving medical treatment at a hospice in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, when her husband passed away.
The couple FaceTimed to bid their final goodbyes as Dalton was dying.
Dalton was supposed to fly back to Kentucky to receive his treatments, but failed to do so because he wasn't healthy enough to travel.
Dalton and Katie's romance began, when they were both 18, after meeting online through Facebook back in 2009.
They fell in love with each other decided to meet amidst doctor's warnings to Katie not be near other CF patients.
At that time, Dalton already had Burkholderia Cepacia, a highly contagious bacterial infection for people with CF.
In 2011, the couple decided to get married.
Eventually, Katie contracted the same infection.
Dalton underwent lung transplant in November 2014 and the surgery was a success.
Almost year later, Katie received hers in July 2015.
However, the couple was struck with another bad news. Dalton developed a lymphoma which he eventually overcame but was recently confined in the hospital due to pneumonia and a viral infection.
Katie's transplant also didn't do well in her favor and recently received news from her doctors that there's nothing more they can do to cure her illness.
The Fault In Our Stars is a novel by American author John Green published in 2012. The novel revolves around a cancer patient named Hazel Grace Lancaster and her relationship with fellow cancer patient Augustus Waters.
In 2014, Shailene Woodly and Ansel Elgort portrayed the characters in the film adaptation directed by Josh Boone.