A dad has written a heartbreaking post about his wife on how remarkable she is for carrying their baby without a brain full term to donate her organs and help others.
Royce Young, from New Orleans, US, shared a photo of his wife sleeping peacefully on the sofa and said he was “overwhelmed” with his love for her.
He explained that their daughter won’t live for more than a few days after she’s born and recalled the moment when the doctor told them the news.
“I thought back to the moment where we found out Eva wasn’t perfect,” he wrote on Facebook on 18 February.
“And how literally 30 seconds after our doctor told us our baby doesn’t have a brain, somehow through full body ugly crying, Keri looked up and asked: ‘If I carry her full term, can we donate her organs?’”
Young said he was in awe of his wife for being so brave while being obviously heartbroken. It “lifted him” out of the moment.
“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 said.
“It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever experienced. In the eight years we’ve been married (and 15 years together) I’ve had a lot of moments stop me in my tracks where I thought: ‘Holy crap, this woman I’m married to, lucky me’.
“But this one was different. It hit me that not only am I married to my very best friend, but to a truly remarkable, special human being.”
Young described the pregnancy as being extremely “tough”, as his wife experiences every kick, hiccup and roll in her belly reminding her that the baby she’s carrying is going to die.
He said the main reason they continued her choice of carrying their daughter full term was to donate their organs, but also so they could meet her.
“We came to the realisation that Eva is alive and our daughter deserves to meet her mama and daddy,” he wrote. “It gave us a purpose to continue on.
“We’re getting closer to the finish line, and while it’s going to be amazing to run through that tape and meet Eva, it comes at a cost. We’ll go to the hospital for a birth, and go home without a baby.
“I want to change it all so, so badly. But I can’t. This is our reality. And there’s no stopping it.”
He ended the post by calling his wife a “spectacular woman” and his desire to let everyone else know how amazing she is.
His Facebook post has been shared 666 times in two days and had more than 2,500 likes.
“What a beautiful tribute to a remarkable woman,” one person wrote. “My heart goes out to your entire family.”
Another commented: “To say your bravery and beautiful hearts are inspiring is a gross understatement. Bless you all.”