A mom in Kentucky is getting a little slice of healing after a horrible loss. Denise Bargo's daughter, Lena Skye Bargo, died in January, shortly before her second birthday. This month, Bargo got to meet the little boy who received Lena's heart after the family donated the girl's organs.
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The Bargo family suffered a tragic loss
Shortly after her birth, doctors diagnosed Lena with hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder caused by an abnormal buildup of fluid in the brain. A shunt was placed to redirect the fluid away from her brain, but it eventually ruptured, which led to the little girl's death.
"She went to sleep and she never woke up," Bargo told USA Today.
There was a silver lining
Bargo explained that her son, Cody Taylor, suggested that they donate Lena's organs, and that's when they found out her heart was a perfect match for 15-month-old Mark Clouse Jr., who lived in Tennessee. Mark was born with a congenital heart defect and had been put on the heart transplant list after having heart failure before his first birthday.
A bittersweet meeting occured
In September, Bargo, along with her husband, Johnny, got to go to Tennessee and meet Mark and his mother, Patience Clouse, at their home.
"I got to hold him and I got to listen to baby Lena’s little heart," Bargo told USA Today. She shared that her niece was following Mark's story and saw in a Facebook post from Patience Clouse that the boy had received his heart from a little girl in Kentucky.
"We put two and two together and we reached out to Patience," Bargo explained. "She agreed to talk to us and that's how we found out."
The two families have formed a relationship
Since the initial meeting, the Bargos have seen Mark and his family two more times. His mother calls them his godparents.
"We’re all one big family now," Denise said.
Something truly unexpected happened during Lena's death
While in the hospital with her baby girl, Bargo started having chest pains and was admitted to the hospital's ER.
"They sent me to the ER and that's when we found out that I have chronic myeloid leukemia," Bargo explained. "It's in remission, but I still get tired and I still worry about it."
She credits her daughter, who was honored with her name on an organ donor wall at the University of Kentucky's hospital, with saving her life.
"It was a beautiful ceremony, knowing that Lena was going to live on," she shared. "She was going to still be living through baby Mark. She saved three lives – four counting mine – but it was so sad and so hard to let my baby go."
