Mother writes emotional letter to family of her baby boy’s organ donor

Every now and then we are reminded of how special life can be and today, this story of 7-month-old little Lincoln who received a heart just in the nick of time, has done exactly that.

Lincoln Seay who has a rare condition, called Heterotaxy Syndrome, meant his organs developed on the opposite side of the body, including his heart. Since birth, Lincoln has undergone multiple surgeries, but his heart continued to fail him even putting him into cardiac arrest. Then on February 19, 89 days of being on the transplant list a miracle happened, and baby Lincoln was given a new heart from an anonymous donor.

“He was right on the edge,” Seattle Children’s surgical director of heart transplantation, Dr. Michael McMullan, told the Seattle Times.

“We have a list of patients and he was the one we were most worried about,” he added.

Because of organ donation privacy regulations, Lincoln’s parents do not know where his new heart came from – only that it was received from another child of similar size to her son.

Lincoln’s mother, Mindy Seay, 35, wrote an open (and very beautiful)letter on social media to the anonymous family.

She writes: “You and I may never meet, may never speak, may never cross paths, but we will be connected on a divine, spiritual level. Your child and mine will be forever entertwined as the heart that grew in your womb now pumps the blood through the body of the child created in mine. They have merged in a way, and your child will forever live on in mine. When my child bleeds, I will think of you. When I bandage his scraped knee, I will think of you. When I hear his heart beat, I will remember you. When his eyes flutter closed as he falls asleep, I will remember your beautiful child. I will say prayers of gratitude and blessings over your family, often. I will treasure the gift you’ve given. I promise.

“I am so very sorry that your child’s journey ended so soon. I am so very sorry that you endured life’s greatest grief. I am just, so very sorry. But I hope that in your sorrow you can take comfort in knowing that you gave life. You gave life to other children. You gave comfort to other families. Your sweet child can live on in the lives of others. That is the greatest gift anyone can ever give. And your child gave that to my beautiful boy. Your child gave that to me. To my family. Your selfless act kept our family whole and spared me, a mother you’ve never met, the same grief you had to endure.”

Lincoln has a long road ahead of him, but his parents shared on Facebook that he is “doing incredible” and his progress is amazing.

“I hope he plays football or does whatever he wants to do,” McMullan told The Seattle Times. “He’s supposed to live.”

In an area that’s not always openly discussed, last year alone 435 organ donors gave 1,241 Australians a new chance in life. Just one organ and tissue donor can transform the lives of 10 or more people. For more information on organ donation visit donatelife.gov.au.

A fund for Seay’s ongoing treatment can be found on YouCaring.

 

Source: body and Soul