Amber Smith shared the heartbreaking details of little River's death and the aftermath of his passing.
Just a week after country music singer Granger Smith revealed that he and wife Amber decided to donate the organs of their 3-year-old son, who died in a drowning accident in the family's pool, Amber revealed that the little boy helped save the lives of two adults.
Amber shared the heartbreaking details of little River's death and the aftermath of his passing. "I’ve always known I wanted to be a donor if anything were to ever happen to me. ... Never in a million years did I think I would be making that decision for my baby," she wrote Saturday.
She recounted the moment she and her husband made the decision to create something good from River's death.
"When 3 different neuro specialists told us that River had 0% chance of brain recovery (yes 0, not 10 or 1%, 0) after shock and reality set in, I thought, how can we bury our sweet baby and not try to help others? His body is perfect, his organs are perfect, we had to do something. There are so many people waiting for an organ to save their lives."
After lying in bed with her son, crying and talking to him while doctors ran tests on his body, the hospital staff prepared for a fitting sendoff for River.
"The next morning family and staff lined the hall for the 'walk of honor'. We told them River liked to go fast, so to honor him, they pushed him down that hall faster than they had ever pushed anyone. Granger and I held each other and cried," she wrote.
Then, the family received the news they had been waiting for.
"We got the letter that our tiny, red-headed hero gave life to 2 adults. A 49 year old woman and a 53 year old man. I cried when we opened it. Cried out of sadness & cried out of love. I’m so proud to be River’s mama and I’m so grateful to God that he gave him to us for those incredible 3 years. I pray these 2 recipients live healthy, joy filled, full throttle lives just like Riv."
River's death came almost a year after Olympic skier Bode Miller's little girl, Emmy, drowned in a neighbor's pool.
The Millers reached out to the Smiths to offer love and support.
"My heart breaks," Bode's wife, Morgan, wrote on Instagram. "Another baby gone too soon."
The Millers have become vocal advocates for pool safety after Emmy's death, urging everyone to fence in their pools, stay vigilant at all times and teach children how to swim early.
On average, 363 children younger than 15 drown in pools or spas every year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
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