Holding the baby for the first time is always special for a parent and a memorable moment.
But for Mark Aulger he only could hold his daughter for 45mins after she was born. Mark died several days after he fell into a coma after his daughter was born.
On December 11, 2011. Mark was announced cancer-free after eight months of treatment. But on the very next month on January 3, 2012, Mark was admitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with lung disease caused by scared or damaged tissue. In Mark’s case, the disease was caused by Chemo. This was exactly nine days before the birth of his fifth child.
Most people with pulmonary fibrosis have a three to five-year life expectancy with the help of specific treatments.
“We thought he could get on steroid treatment and oxygen and live for years,” But that wasn’t the case. By January 16th, it became obvious that the treatments weren’t working and Mark was given just one week to live” said Diane in an interview.
The doctor informed Diane that mark only has a week.
Diane and her doctors decided to induce labor two weeks early to ensure that father and daughter would get to meet at least one time. On January 18, with Mark in a bed nearby, Diane gave birth to baby Savannah.
Mark was present in the delivery room and he held her for 45 minutes Diane could not help but cry the whole time.
The following day, Mark attempted to hold his daughter again, but after only a minute, he could no longer hold on. He went into a coma.
While Mark was in a coma Diane would put her daughter on him for a few minutes and his hand would move towards her. She also shared that whenever the baby cried Mark would shake his head and moan.
On January 23, Mark died.
After this news spread donations and support began to flood in for the family. They received thousands of dollars which helped them to buy a minivan. It helped them get up and move forward in life again.
This was such a heart-touching story for many and Diane was so overwhelmed by the response she got from the community.
