A Couple Carries Child With Fatal Brain Disorder So They Can Donate Organs To Babies In Need

Aug 06, 2019

Tennessee residents Krysta Davis and Derek Lovett are a strong couple. While still in their twenties, the two learned that their baby had a condition called Anencephaly in Krysta’s eighteenth week of pregnancy.

Krysta would later remark that she knew something was wrong with her unborn child as a nurse began acting strangely during one of her exams. Doctors explained to the couple that the diagnosis was fatal as children born with the condition are missing portions of the skull and the brain.

The young mom-to-be knew the pain of losing a child firsthand as in 2017, she had a miscarriage caused by polycystic ovary syndrome.

Doctors recommended two courses of action: either induce labor immediately or carry the child to term so her organs could be donated to other babies in need. Krysta and Derek didn’t need to weigh the two options, they knew immediately that they wanted to be with their baby for as long as possible.

Choosing the name Rylei for their baby girl, Krysta enjoyed every moment of her pregnancy as her little baby kicked and moved inside her body. After 40 weeks and two days, Rylei was born on Christmas Eve.

Doctors warned the young couple that babies with anencephaly usually don’t survive any longer than 30 minutes after birth, but Rylei was strong and hung on for a week, passing away on New Year’s Eve.

Krysta later recalled to reporters how wonderful a child Rylei was, how she always had a smile on her face and barely ever cried. The two stayed with her every day at the hospital, putting a lifetime of love into one week.

In her death, Rylei saved the lives of other babies.

The two halves of her little heart were given to other children while her lungs were given to a research hospital that specializes in treatment for anencephaly. While Krysta and Derek’s story is sad, it is not the only one of its kind in the world. Countless couples struggle with losing children to fatal illnesses each year.

To help assuage the tremendous loss these parents feel, former nurse Nancy Sawyer established the Garden of Sleeping Angels, a monument filled with ceramic statues of angels to give parents a place to cope with their loss and heal from the wounds of a lost child.

What do you think of how Krysta carried Rylei to term so that her organs could be used to save other babies? Tell us your thoughts on this touching story in the comments below.