Community mourns young Bellevue girl

BELLEVUE — A young Bellevue girl hospitalized with a serious medical condition has passed away, her family posted online Thursday afternoon. An outpouring of community grief and sorrow followed news of Blakely Luke Hilty's passing. "Blakely Luke is in heaven," according to a post on the Blakely's Army Facebook page. "Daddy and I gave her a bath, put her in her bluebird onesie, and walked her over to the sunshine. Not one thought that it would be in that moment. That's when it happened." Blakely Luke was hospitalized on Feb. 4 after unexpectedly suffering seizures. According to the Facebook page, she had since been diagnosed with a rare disease known as PolG. It's a genetic disorder that "robs the body's cells of energy, in turn causing progressive multiple organ dysfunction and failure," according to polgfoundation.org. Dozens of people commented on the post, offering the Hilty family messages of love and support. "My heart aches for you and your family," one commenter said. "Your beautiful girl is now enjoying herself in heaven and is pain-free." Another wrote: "Your entire family is our prayers and the entire community's." In a sign of solidarity, some people changed their social media profile account pictures to a picture of a bluebird. "Bluebird" was a nickname given to Blakely Luke by her family, the page states. Want to help? A GoFundMe campaign was set up in early February for the Hilty family. As of Thursday evening, more than 450 donors raised more than $34,000. People can donate at gofundme.com/f/blakely-lukes-medical or by searching "Blakely Luke's Medical" on GoFundMe. People can also buy special shirts by visiting stores.inksoft.com/blakelys_army/shop/home. Proceeds will help offset Blakely's medical expenses.