#LucatotheU: Boy who loved Miami Hurricanes dies of leukemia, turnover chain by side
Little Miami Hurricanes fan Luca Raskin put up a valiant fight.
But in the end, his 5-year-old body succumbed to the disease that started the battle.
Luca, whose battle precipitated the hashtag #LucatotheU and to whom Miami football coach Manny Diaz sent a heartfelt video message in March, died Thursday night of leukemia in his South Carolina home, according to his parents on social media.
He had his turnover chain by his side, his father said.
“Luca left this earth at 6:51 this evening while being held by mom and dad, and surrounded by loved ones,’’ his father, Ryan Raskin, posted on Twitter. “Thank you all for your continued support and love for my family, Luca, and I. As always #LucaToTheU.”
And this from Luca’s mother, Ashley, in a facebook post: “Day 235 Thursday May 20
“Ryan and I are devastated to tell y’all that Luca went to heaven at 6:51 this evening at home. It has been an extremely scary, emotional, and exhausting day!
“As y’all know, early this morning, Luca took a turn for the worse and they put him on the oscillator. The team came in a little later and told us that Luca had a 99% chance that he wouldn’t survive the [acute respiratory distress syndrome]...
“They knew our wishes were to have Luca die at home and they said they could make that happen for us.
“This afternoon, they told us that Luca’s kidneys were failing, he was acidotic, retaining co2, and losing oxygen. His body was done fighting and they weren’t confident he would make it through the night.
“We were able to come home this evening and the team did such an amazing job! We got an ambulance ride home and they did the lights and sirens for him!
“We got comfortable in the living room and all said our goodbyes again and then had the respiratory therapist pull out the breathing tube. He passed away peacefully a few minutes later...
“Luca was such an unbelievable fighter and blew our minds with how well he and his body tried to fight this cancer! But now we are thankful he’s not suffering!
“Please pray for our family as we navigate through this new and difficult time!”
Luca was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in September, Ashley, a medical/surgical nurse, told the Miami Herald in March, the month Luca turned 5. He is also survived by three sibling in their home of North Augusta: Peyton, who was 12 in March; Cooper, who was then 2; and then-1-year-old Claire.
“I’m absolutely floored by everyone reaching out to us,’’ said Ryan, an information technology contractor, in March. Ryan’s request for UM to acknowledge Luca was previously facilitated by Brad Tejeda, a contributor at CanesInSight. “No words to describe my gratitude for all of this.’’
Condolences on social media came fast and furiously, including from Diaz and coaches and the UM Sports Hall of Fame.
“RIPLuca,’’ Diaz simply wrote, accompanied by three praying hands emojis and by Luca’s father’s tweet with the news.
From Miami’s Sports Hall of Fame: “The UM Sports Hall of Fame is saddened to hear of the passing of one of our bravest fans...Luca Raskin of North Augusta, South Carolina. Luca fought for his life, for his family and for his Canes ! May GOD bless his soul and protect his parents and three siblings. #LucatoTheU”
Said Diaz in the March video: “Before I go, I just want to send a little love if I can. We’ve got a little Hurricane named Luca, who is going through a courageous battle right now with leukemia. And the one thing we tell our guys on our team is that any tough battles we go through, you never go through them alone.
“You know, we fight everything as a team. It’s kind of the way we sort of build our culture here and we just want to send, from everybody here in this program, to let Luca know that he doesn’t have to fight his battle alone. He’s got all the U nation behind him and certainly everybody in our football program is behind him. We got a little something coming his way to show the love and support that we have for him. Just wanted to send that out there.’’
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 9:28 AM.
