A mother who stored breast milk following her daughter’s early death has used her gift to save the life of another.
Jennifer Tiner’s baby Isabella died at just 13 months old after suffering from horrific seizures since birth. Following her death, Jennifer continued to pump breaks milk to be donated to a medical centre for sick babies.
Her incredible gift couldn’t have been more timely as another baby was born three months before his due date and needed the vital goodness of breastmilk to survive.
The little boy, Dekevyon Chappell, was born at 28 weeks in April last year, was frighteningly small, weighing just 900 grams he had a small chance of survival.
Doctors told Detra Chappell, Dekevyon’s mother, breast milk was crucial to her daughter’s survival, although she could not produce the milk herself given the premature labour.
“They stressed that to the fullest,” Chappell, from Texas, told local television station WFA8. “Like, whatever you can get, put it in the little bottle and bring it.”
Now, one year old, Dekevyon is a healthy, happy little baby thanks to Jennifer’s breast milk, with all 124 litres used to ensure the survival of the little boy.
The two women have now formed a close friendship that will now never be broken.
“I’m glad I finally got to meet you, because I was always wondering, ‘Now, who is it coming from?’,” Detra told Jennifer during the television interview, published on essential baby.com.
Jennifer was chosen as Dekevyon’s godmother, and takes comfort in the fact that Isabella’s milk helped save the life of another baby.
“She lives on, she’s not forgotten,” she said. “She saved him through her milk. It’s liquid gold, is what it is.”