Losing a child is something too difficult to put into words, no matter at what age the loss happens. But losing an 11-day-old has got to be especially painful.
In October, Ariel Matthews gave birth to a son, Ronan, who experienced complications and died at just 11 days old. While no words can explain the heartbreak she must have suffered, Ariel ended up doing something amazing amid the hardship.
The stay-at-home mom to 3-year-old Noah decided to make light of her very dark situation and donate her breast milk.
The mom told People, "When my breast milk came in I was pumping a whole lot, I decided right away to donate it, because I knew he wasn't going to make it."
In fact, this wasn't the first time Ariel donated her breast milk for a sad personal reason.
A year before giving birth to Ronan, Ariel had a stillborn pregnancy and came to the same decision about what to do with her breast milk.
The mom had hoped to donate 1,000 ounces, but only produced about half that. "I think because he came early, I just didn't produce as much," she said.
But this time, since Ronan was not born prematurely, Ariel produced a whole lot of milk.
"I made it another goal, if my body would let me, to try for 1,000 ounces," she said.
While donating breast milk to needy babies is heartwarming, it's important to remember that Ronan was fighting another battle at the time.
Ariel's strength and ability to think selflessly during such a difficult time is truly commendable.
Ariel hit her 1,000-ounce goal, and just kept going.
In total, Ariel produced 2,370 ounces, or 148.1 pounds, of breast milk.
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