Dad Gets Final Wish Of Holding His Newborn Before Passing Away Thanks To Mom's Induced Birth

Jan 14, 2020

It was 31-year-old Diane Augler’s worst nightmare. While she should have been relieved that her husband Mark, 52, had survived surgery to excise a cancerous growth on his colon, she was devastated to hear that his lungs had been irrevocably scarred from the following chemotherapy. Mark was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and the doctors said his condition was fatal. Her husband only had five or six days left to live. 

The couple was expecting their fifth child and Diane’s due date was two weeks away. She had originally planned for natural childbirth, but when Mark turned to her and said, “I’d like to see the baby”—the devoted wife and mother changed her plans. Instead, she told ABC News that she chose to be induced to ensure her husband would have a chance to hold their newborn daughter before passing away.

On January 18th, 2012, Diane’s labor was induced and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in a hospital bed pulled up next to her husband’s. Afterward, baby Savannah was placed in her father’s arms and he held her for 45 minutes until his strength began to fail him. Diane's husband cried and looked sad as he looked down at his newborn child. Mark would slip into a coma three days after Savannah’s birth and die shortly thereafter. Diane remembers placing Savannah on his chest and how Mark’s hand would move towards his daughter while in the coma. It would appear a father’s love knows no bounds. 

Would you make the same choice as Diane if faced with this impossible situation? Do you applaud her actions to ensure father and daughter had time together, if only fleeting, or do you think Diane should have waited to give birth to her child? Let us know in the comments and be sure to spread the word about this heartbreaking story!