Bucket List For Newborn Baby Shane Haley
Update: He Was Alive For Less Than 24 Hours, But Baby Shane Made It Through His Whole Bucket List
Just a few hours after his birth, Shane Michael Haley's life was cut tragically short, but he was still able to complete an entire list of "bucket list" adventures, thanks to his devoted parents, Jenna and Dan Haley. In her third month of Jenna's pregnancy, the couple received the heartbreaking news that their unborn child was suffering from anencephaly, a serious birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull. Babies with this condition generally live just a few hours or days at the most. Shane was born at 2:25 this morning, and passed away in his mother's arms just four hours later.
Once they received their diagnosis, Jenna and Dan's next course of action was nothing short of remarkable. "I told him [Dan] 'We're going to carry him, but he's not going to make it," Jenna told ABC's WPVI-TV. The parents-to-be then drafted a bucket list of all of their favorite experiences that they wanted to share with Shane and wasted no time providing their unborn son with an abbreviated lifetime of memories. "He's still our son. So while he's with us, let's show him all the love we can, let's do everything we can with him, let's make some memories with him because he's still our little boy," Dan told WPVI-TV. The couple has shared their adventures on social media with the hashtag #PrayersForShane, and the response from friends, family, and strangers alike has been tremendous.
"Just to see the impact of Shane's life, even though he hasn't been born yet, he's obviously made his mark already on the world, and that's pretty amazing. It's a miracle in itself," said Dan.
They crossed off each and every item before his birth — and death — this morning. Here, a few of the Haleys' standout memories during their brief time as a family of three. Our hearts go out to this incredible mom and dad.
A Trip to New York City
A Day at the Beach
A Shower of Love
Dad's Big Day
Fall Fun
