OKLAHOMA CITY (THV11) — It’s an unimaginably heartbreaking situation for any expecting parent, but one Oklahoma City couple is using that tragedy to help others.
Keri and Royce Young were anxiously awaiting an ultrasound photo of their daughter, Eva, when the doctor gave them some grave news, according to a Facebook post that has been shared more than 13,000 times nationwide.
Eva doesn’t have a brain and will not likely live for more than a few hours after her birth.
After 30 seconds of crying and shaking, Keri came to a difficult decision.
“Keri looked up and asked, ‘If I carry her full term, can we donate her organs?’ I remember our doctor putting her hand on Keri’s shoulder and saying, ‘Oh honey, that’s so brave of you to say,’” Royce wrote.
Royce said he was shocked at the strength of his wife of eight years.
“In literally the worst moment of her life, finding out her baby was going to die, it took her less than a minute to think of someone else and how her selflessness could help,” he wrote.
A day after receiving the devastating news, Keri and Royce went to an appointment with LifeShare of Oklahoma to discuss the possibility of donating Eva’s organs, Keri said in another Facebook post.
They learned Eva’s heart valves, kidneys, liver and maybe pancreas would be eligible for transplant, and her lungs could be donated to research.
The couple is not hoping for a miracle, Keri said.
“For the next 20 weeks I will feel her kick, have the hiccups and we’ll be able to hear her perfect heart beating all the while knowing we’ll only get a few short hours with her when she’s born,” she wrote.
Keri and Royce are sharing updates publicly on their Facebook pages.
