FIFTEEN-year-old Beyonce Ross, the cyclist who was  battling a brain tumor in the centre of her brain, passed away on Monday morning, her relatives confirmed.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle early Monday morning, family members and relatives said that they are still trying to accept the news. Her mother Yonette Clarke has been at her bedside praying for a miracle.

The once budding all-round athlete of Rose Hall Town and a fourth form student of the Lower Corentyne Secondary was diagnosed with a brain tumor three months ago that left her bedridden and unable to perform the simplest of tasks.

“She was a jovial and active child and it’s sad to see her; she has deteriorated rapidly… every day that goes by we are hoping what the next day will be like,” her mother was quoted as saying.

On Thursday last , Ross was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital in a critical state. At the time doctors related she was brain dead.

She was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Thursday afternoon where she remained on life support. Her drastic decline in health had family members confused and worried since they were told only two days prior  that the tumor was not cancerous, after the result from the biopsy was returned.

Ross, a triple gold medalist and all round athlete, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March of this year. Doctors had told relatives given the location of the tumor, surgery had to be performed overseas to have it removed since the operation was deemed  a high-risk one.

Prior to her  hospitalisation, Ross was said to have been in good spirits and even showed signs of feeling better until things took a sudden turn on Thursday morning.(Nafeeza Yahya)