My son Cameron was born at 26 weeks gestation weighing in at 1 pound 14oz. He was a fighter and the doctors said he had spunk. My water broke unexpectedly at 19 weeks and Cameron defied all odds by surviving in the womb with little to no amniotic fluid for another 7 weeks. The doctors told me that I would go into labor within 48 hours after they discovered my water had broken, but Cameron had other plans to show the world how strong he could be and was going to stay with his mom as long as he could. I think he was also trying to show me how strong that I never knew I could be. He taught me so much.

About one week after Cameron was born, he received his first blood transfusion. I could immediately tell the difference just by looking at him. His skin went from pale to pink, he was alert and showed that spunk the doctors were talking about. He went through a lot of challenges the next week and had his second scheduled transfusion on a Friday morning. My phone rang at 5AM that morning and it was the doctor telling me with urgency that Cameron was struggling and we needed to get there as fast as possible. The next 20 minutes trying to get to him was the longest of my life. We got to his room with doctors surrounding him and learned that for an unknown reason, his heartbeat slowed down dramatically to an almost complete stop. His doctor believed that the only reason he was still alive when we got there, was thanks the the blood transfusion she was preparing when it occurred, that allowed her to push the blood through his system moments after his heart stopped.

Whoever donated that blood, saved my son’s life in that moment and gave him more time to keep fighting. I will be forever grateful to Cameron’s blood donor and although he was not strong enough to win the fight in the end, that blood prolonged his life and allowed us to spend another week with our son. One week may not sound like much, but to have seven days to smell his hair, touch his tiny hands, hold him, watch him sleep and talk to him to tell him how proud I was of him for being so strong, was worth more to me than anything that exists in this world. I will always wish I could find his blood donor to thank them. They gave Cameron life.

This is why I choose to be a blood donor and this is why I will never stop encouraging everyone to become a blood donor and give the precious gift of life. Cameron’s legacy will live on through every single blood donor and recipient. We honor Cameron’s memory through helping others give the gift of life. #DonateForCameron #GiveLife