Country star Granger Smith and his wife Amber had reason for tears of love after announcing in June that their 3-year-old son River had drowned.
The child saved two lives through organ donation, his mom revealed in an emotional social media post this weekend.
With “0% chance of brain recovery,” doctors ran tests to see if organ donation was possible, Amber wrote on Instagram.
It wasn’t an easy process.
“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 more days while they searched,” she wrote.
Doctors tried to expedite the process and told her that the family wouldn’t know which organs would be viable for donation until after the process. Amber spent the night before the operation with her son.
“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.’ “
A walk just wasn’t appropriate.
“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,” she shared. “Granger and I held each other and cried.”
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I’ve always known I wanted to be a donor if anything were to ever happen to me. I just felt that if I had viable organs, why would I go into the ground with them? My spirit would be in Heaven, so why not save a life if I could? Never in a million years did I think I would be making that decision for my baby. 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? 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. The doctors said donation was quite a process. We would have to search for viable recipients and it could take days. 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 more days while they searched. 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. 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. 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. 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. I pray these 2 recipients live healthy, joy filled, full throttle lives just like Riv. It was one of the hardest, yet easiest, decisions we’ve ever made. There are over 113,000 people waiting for transplants & 20 people die each day waiting. Go to OrganDonor.gov to see how you can help give life as well. ❤️
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1 letter, 2 kinds of tears
Amber Smith said in the post she received a letter that revealed her son’s organ donation saved a woman, 49, and a man, 53.
“I cried when we opened it. Cried out of sadness & cried out of love,” she wrote. “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.”
Amber Smith said her son River liked to go fast. She hopes the two adults will be able to live life "full throttle" now, too, after receiving his organs. (Photo: Getty Images)
Smith said she hopes that the recipients of River’s organs capture some of his go-go spirit.
“I pray these 2 recipients live healthy, joy filled, full throttle lives just like Riv,” she wrote. She urged others to consider organ donation. “It was one of the hardest, yet easiest, decisions we’ve ever made. There are over 113,000 people waiting for transplants & 20 people die each day waiting. Go to OrganDonor.gov to see how you can help give life as well.”
Smith and Amber also share daughter London, 7, and son Lincoln, 5.
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