Heartbreaking Parenting Stories of 2015

1 Woman Kept on Life Support For 2 Months So Her Unborn Baby Could Survive

Image Source: Flickr user Methodist Health System

The birth of Angel Perez was nothing short of a miracle. After Karla Perez — just 22 weeks pregnant — was left brain dead after suffering a stroke, doctors kept her alive for nearly eight weeks, just long enough to deliver her unborn child in a historic procedure.

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2 Mother Creates Video Messages For Her Daughter to Watch Before Dying of Cancer

Elizabeth Joice was 36 when she lost her battle to cancer just six weeks after giving birth to her daughter, Lily, but she made sure that her daughter would never be fully without her presence. Through a documentary project, over 70 hours of footage of Elizabeth was captured and the clips were put to music for Lily to watch as she grew older — so that she'd know of her mom who loved her so much.

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3 10-Week-Old Baby Dies of Water Intoxication Due to Parents Diluting Breast Milk

Back in May, Herbert George Landell, 26, and Lauren Heather Fristed, 25, were arrested after bringing their 10-week-old baby girl to the emergency room, already dead due to water intoxication. Nevaeh Marie Landell was being fed diluted breast milk as a form of "formula stretching" — an attempt to make breast milk or formula last for more feedings — which can result in a baby's brain developing wrong or, as in this case, death.

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4 Mother of Stillborn Baby Urges Parents to Be Grateful For the Tough Parenting Moments

Image Source: Facebook user Natalie Morgan

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2015, a pregnant Natalie Morgan couldn't feel her baby moving and immediately knew that something was wrong. Eleanor Josephine was born sleeping after several hours of labor, and Morgan took to Facebook to post the heart-wrenching photos of her and Eleanor with an important message to all parents: "All I ask of you is when you have your dark moments with your baby. . . . say a prayer for me and all the mothers whose children were taken from them too soon. Say a prayer for my sweet, sweet Eleanor who never got to know life outside my womb."

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5 Truck Driver Kills Couple's 2 Sons in a Crash

Image Source: GoFundMe page Eddings Family

Hadley Eddings was driving with her 2-year-old son, Dobbs, over Memorial Day weekend — directly behind her husband, Gentry, in his own car — when a box truck driver rammed into both of them after running a red light. Dobbs, who was strapped into his car seat in the back, passed away on the way to the hospital, and Hadley, who was 8 months pregnant, was forced to deliver the baby, Reed, in an emergency C-section. Though he was born at 38 weeks, Reed lived for just a few days.

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6 The Tearjerking Story of Teddy, the Newborn Who Saved a Life After Losing His

Newborn baby Teddy was alive for less than two hours, but he made a life-changing impact that his parents and others will remember forever. After spending precious final moments with his parents and his newborn twin brother, Teddy became the UK's youngest organ donor ever by donating his kidneys to an adult in need.

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7 11-Year-Old Boy Shoots 8-Year-Old Girl Over Fight About Puppies

When an 11-year-old boy first got into an argument with his 8-year-old neighbor — about their puppies — nobody expected it to end with murder charges. Each of the children had a puppy, and when the boy asked to see the little girl's dog, she said no, and the boy retrieved a gun from his house. The boy took his father's 12-gauge shotgun, which was stored in a closet without locks, and shot the girl from his house as she stood in her yard. First responders found her "lying on the ground with a gunshot to the chest." She later died from her injuries at an area hospital.

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8 Why This Mom's Message to a Hospital Employee Has Gone Viral After Daughter Needs Stitches

Image Source: Facebook user Merritt Smith

Merritt Smith found herself in the middle of every mother's worst nightmare when her 4-year-old needed to go to the hospital after being hit at school. But not only is she furious with the boy who bullied her daughter, she's equally upset with a hospital employee for sending the message that what the boy did was OK. She said in an open letter to the man on Facebook, "Do not tell my 4-year-old who needs stitches from a boy at school hitting her 'I bet he likes you.'"

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9 2 Brothers Tragically Die in Car Accidents . . . 3 Months Apart

Image Source: GoFundMe page Help the Tsatsos family

In a truly tragic turn of events, a family lost their son in a hit-and-run accident just three months after they buried another son following another fatal car crash. The hit-and-run claimed the life of Michigan college freshman Ryan Tsatsos when he and a group of friends were walking back to their dorm after a night out early Sunday morning. In July, Ryan's older brother, Darryl, was killed in a car accident — they were the couple's only children.

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10 Parents Tragically Die to Save Their Baby Girl From a Tornado

Image Source: Getty

Melissa and Michael Mooneyhan were killed after a massive tornado struck their home. During those final moments, they miraculously managed to save their 18-month-old baby by shielding her from the debris. The Mooneyhans were among the five people killed in May after a series of tornadoes struck towns in Texas and Arkansas.

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11 Trooper Gives Kids a Halloween After Parents Are Killed

Image Source: GoFundMe page Children Lost Both Parents In Wreck

On Halloween night, Donald and Crystal Howard left their children — ages 13, 10, 8, and 6 — at home while they ran to the store to pick up face paint and more candy for trick-or-treaters. Their SUV careened off the road and hit a tree. They didn't survive the crash. Trooper Nathan Bradley was tasked with informing the next of kin — knowing that he'd have to call Child Protective Services and that the children would have to spend the night in jail until the grandmother arrived, Officer Bradley went out on a limb. "I pulled the deputy coroner to the side and told him that I was split. I wanted to preserve these kids' Halloween and the ones to come. I suggested that I'd care for them until their family was able to."

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12 Little Boy's Last Wish Was to See His Parents Get Married

Image Source: South West News Service

Five-year-old Corey Edwards from Teignmouth, Devon, England, got to see the thing he wanted most just five days before he died in the hospital. When parents Jemma and Craig Edwards found out their son did not have much longer to live, they organized a wedding within 48 hours and got married next to Corey's bedside at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in England. Little Corey wore a suit and tie and held the rings as he watched his parents exchange vows next to him.

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13 Father Asks Santa to Take Photo With His Late Son

Image Source: Facebook user Caleb Ryan Sigmon

It's atypical for a photo on Santa's lap to be heartbreaking, but this one tore us apart. In a post to Facebook, "Santa" wrote about a man who waited in his line with a photo of his son who had passed away the year before: "'I have a request,' he said, turning around this picture frame. He took a moment. . . . Without anyone saying anything, he handed me the frame and I placed it on my knee. I didn't ask any questions, but I am guessing that this is his first photo with Santa. The camera snap was the only sound I could hear through the entire mall." Santa urges everyone reading the tearful post to "Pray for the brokenhearted. Smile at people. Just be kind. Love one another."

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