We need more kindness in this world and this story is a beautiful reminder how kind humanity can be.
A heartbroken dad, Jared Buhanan-Decker, lost his wife Sharry through the childbirth of their first son, James (also nicknamed JJ).
To keep his wife’s memory alive, Jared would play recordings of his wife playing guitar and singing, which she had recorded and uploaded to YouTube.
After Sharry died, Jared found more music on their computer that had been saved in a file format he couldn’t open.
Jared headed to Reddit to ask for help. He shared his heartbreaking story of losing his wife while she gave birth to their first baby JJ.
He asked if anyone could assist him in accessing the files.
He wrote in the post, “I just want to be able to hear her voice again.”
Within a couple of hours, strangers offered to help, requesting Jared to upload the files to a shared Google Drive folder in which the strangers converted the files so he could open them. Even professional music directors offered their assistance in getting the files converted for Jared.
“People can be very kind in the face of tragedy,” Jared said.
The new songs will allow JJ to hear his mum sing to him.
The four-month-year old was not given a positive prognosis when he was born.
Doctors think Sharry died during an amniotic fluid embolism caused by her traumatic birth. JJ was delivered by emergency C-section, and despite surviving the birth, doctors told Jared his son might have medical issues going forward.
Jared told the Huffington Post, “At first JJ’s ‘worst case scenarios’ included blindness, never walking, never feeding himself, cerebral palsy, severe learning disabilities and [overall] short life.”
But after staying in NICU, JJ went home and is doing great and defying the odds. Jared now updates a blog that Sharry had started, sharing how he and JJ are going to start completing a bucket list Sharry had written up before JJ’s arrival.
“She really sincerely and intensely cared about things. She longed to make a difference in the world for the better,” Jared said. “She was passionate and emotional for good and for bad, and I miss her more than I could ever imagine.”
Despite the heartache, the recordings Sharry left behind mean Jared can still hear his wife’s voice again, and JJ can hear his mummy sing him a lullaby.
