Family and Hospital Staff Sing 'Amazing Grace' as Toddler Takes Final Journey To Donate Organs
An Iowa family’s heartbreaking loss of their 1-year-old daughter has given life and hope to two children and one adult because of organ donation.
Paul and Meagan Sobolik bravely shared video footage of the moment their 22-month-old daughter, Coralynn “Cora” Eve Sobolik, was taken into surgery to have her organs donated.
Just one day before, doctors declared Cora brain dead after suffering complications from a virus.
In the heart-wrenching video, hospital staff and family members lined the hallway to pay tribute to the tiny girl who was on her way to save lives.
“You get to save three people,” the mother whispered to her tiny daughter. “I love you forever.”
According to a GoFundMe campaign set up by Coralynn’s aunt, Melissa Brevig, Cora initially showed signs of illness on April 19 when she was having trouble breathing.
Her parents took her to the hospital at Cresco Medical in Iowa, but doctors decided she would fare better at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, approximately one hour away.
During the procedure to sedate and intubate Cora for the transfer, her heart stopped. Medical staff worked for 25 minutes to get Cora’s heart pumping again and successfully transferred her to Rochester.
Cora’s family was hopeful that their daughter would pull through after doctors told them her heart was doing well. But a CT scan revealed that Cora had suffered brain damage.
Doctors told Paul and Meagan Sobolik there was a small chance that Cora would wake up, but she would likely never be the same.
Overnight, Cora’s health took a heartbreaking turn for the worse.
“In the middle of the night, Cora’s brain started to swell, and they did an emergency CAT scan,” Brevig wrote. “This test came back with the worst news ever. There was no coming back.”
Cora was pronounced dead on Easter Sunday, April 21.
Her parents decided they would donate her organs to people who were in dire need.
“When we knew that she wasn’t ever going to wake and that she was gone mentally, we knew that she would want her organs to help people in need,” Meagan Sobolik told People.
Meagan Sobolik filmed the moment in order to include family who could not be there in person, and soon, little Cora was touching millions of lives with her courageous story.
“I was speechless, and it was truly wonderful to see and feel so much love and support for our little girl,” Sobolik told People.
As Cora’s parents grieve the loss of their daughter, they hope her story will encourage others to register as organ donors.
“Even though Coralynn was so young, she made a huge impact on the world,” her obituary read.
“Coralynn was able to donate her heart and save a 1 year old little boy, her liver saved a 1 year old little girl, and her kidneys went to help a 41 year old lady.”
In the midst of her pain, Sobolik is encouraged to know her daughter’s life is making a difference in the lives of others.
“When your child donates their organs, they live on in someone else [and] they are saving people that otherwise [might] not be saved without your child’s gifts,” Sobolik told People.
“Our daughter was absolutely the world to us. She was such a happy little girl and always laughing — her laugh was infectious.
“Cora is our little superhero, and I believe is becoming an inspiration for millions of people and also helping to raise awareness for organ donation all over the world.”
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