Even after his tragic passing, Granger and Amber Smith’s son River will live on in others.
One month after the 3-year-old died in a drowning accident at home, Amber revealed that his donated organs were passed on to two people in need.
“We got the letter that our tiny, red-headed hero gave life to 2 adults: a 49 year old woman and a 53 year old man,” the mother of three wrote in an Instagram message. “I cried when we opened it. Cried out of sadness & cried out of love.”
“I’m so proud to be River’s mama and I’m so grateful to God that he gave him to us for those incredible 3 years,” she continued. “I pray these 2 recipients live healthy, joy filled, full throttle lives just like Riv.”
Amber explained that while she was always wanted to be a donor herself, she “never in a million years” thought she’d have to make that decision for one of her children. But when she and Granger received River’s post-accident prognosis, the next steps became clear.
“When 3 different neuro specialists told us that River had 0% chance of brain recovery (yes 0, not 10 or 1%, 0) after shock and reality set in, I thought, how can we bury our sweet baby and not try to help others?” she wrote. “His body is perfect, his organs are perfect, we had to do something. There are so many people waiting for an organ to save their lives.”
“We knew River’s spirit was in Heaven, but we couldn’t bear to watch his tiny, earthly body be pumped full of all the medicines for 3 or [more] days while they searched,” she continued. “They tried to expedite the process so our family could be in peace, told us they would take him back to operate the next morning, but we wouldn’t know what organs could be used until after. With such a small body, organs had to be measured physically, not just by X-ray.”
“I spent the night laying in bed with him, crying and talking to him while they kept running tests and taking blood,” she wrote. “The next morning family and staff lined the hall for the ‘walk of honor’. We told them River liked to go fast, so to honor him, they pushed him down that hall faster than they had ever pushed anyone. Granger and I held each other and cried.”
WATCH: Granger Smith And Wife Amber Donate $218K To Hospital That Tried To Save Son’s Life
Despite their bittersweet final moments at the hospital, Amber is ultimately grateful they chose for River to become a donor.
“It was one of the hardest, yet easiest decisions we’ve ever made,” she said.