SoCal mom whose public battle with leukemia touched hearts has died

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Susie Rabaca, the Southern California mother who survived a battle with leukemia long enough to give birth to healthy twins, has died.

Rabaca, a mother of five children, died Wednesday morning with family at her side, her mother told Eyewitness News.
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Eyewitness News brought you Rabaca's story in 2018 when she was weeks away from giving birth and in need of a bone-marrow transplant to help treat her leukemia.

In response to her story, a record-breaking number of people signed up to be potential bone-marrow donors, but she needed a 100% match and her mixed heritage made it difficult to find a donor.

RELATED: SoCal leukemia patient gives birth to twins after finding perfect donor match


A perfect match was found and she gave birth to twins shortly after in December 2018.
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Unfortunately, the cancer returned and she needed a second transplant.



"She fought until she had nothing left to give," Susie's mother said in a social media post. "Susie's story touched so many people and thousands of lives will be saved because of her. My daughter did not lose her battle. She won! She is a warrior!"

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family and the future education of Rabaca's children.