Girl Who Died In Tragic Fall Helps Save Lives Of Four People Through Organ Donation
Aug 5, 2019, 7:23 AM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A family from Rexburg, Idaho is grieving the loss of their daughter after a tragic tree climbing accident in their backyard.
Shaylyn Bergeson, 9, fell from a tree on Monday evening.
She passed Thursday, after surviving a surgery at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake.
“The doctors told us she had a 50 percent chance of making it through the surgery,” Jesica Bergeson, Shaylyn’s mother said. “After the surgery, medical professionals told us she had significant bleeding on the right side of her brain, and that she would likely be paralyzed if she survived.”
Shaylyn fell out of a tree and was impaled, in the head, by a metal rebar.
“I just collapsed when I saw her. She looked dead. But she still had a heartbeat,” Jesi Bergeson said. “I screamed, ‘there is a piece of rebar in her head’!”
Jesi told KSL5-News she had an unusual conversation, a few months ago, about organ donation with her daughter.
“Shaylyn told me with certainty that if, heaven forbid, anything ever happened to her, she would want to donate all her organs,” Bergeson said.
Jesi Bergeson said she had a strong feeling she needed to talk to doctors about donating her daughter’s organs. They told her she came to them in just the right amount of time.
Shaylyn donated her liver, kidneys, heart valves and her corneas to four different families.
“Because of my baby, four families received the answers their prayers,” Bergenson said. “They don’t have to bury their babies because of my sweet girl.”
Bergeson is going to school to be a nurse.
She said her new mission is to educate others about organ donation.
“Clicking ‘yes’ at the DMV is not enough. We need to have a conversation with our children about this matter,” Bergeson said. “I want to live my live life like my sweet Shaylyn. She loved glitter, jump roping, gymnastics, and riding her bike. She was kindhearted and good.”
The Bergeson family lost another daughter to a disability in 2016.
“Our sweet Briauna had the mental capacity of a 4 month old at 10 years old, and Shaylyn was always so kind and loving toward her. I can’t believe we have lost another baby.”
Friends have set up a *GoFundMe page to help with medical and funeral expenses.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
