Lindsay Dewey lost her 22-month-old son, Reed, in a heartbreaking accident at their Idaho home. Now, the mom of three wants to raise awareness so other parents don’t have to experience the same kind of agony. Dewey shared on her Instagram Stories that Reed put a suction cup bowl on a mirror and, as far as she could figure, was pulling it “back and forth” to unstick it when the mirror fell on him. Her other children tried to help but could not move the heavy piece of furniture. Dewey reacted in seconds, but tragically, Reed received significant injuries.
Dewey wrote, “The second I lifted it up I looked at him to see if he was ok and he was laying there eyes open but not crying and I felt relieved thinking he must’ve been okay just in shock or something …but no… he was not the Reed I knew.”
In an instant, she knew something was “very wrong,” and doctors later confirmed her worst nightmare. Reed suffered a traumatic brain injury that ultimately took his life.
Following Reed’s death, Dewey shared an update on Instagram with a photo of her and her husband, Eric, holding Reed. The family opted to donate Reed’s organs, ultimately helping save the lives of five other children.
The grieving mother wrote, “I couldn’t stop thinking about the families who got the best call of their life, their answered prayer. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand why our prayer wasn’t answered, but God knows all things. Even though this is not fair on every single level, we’re so proud of you baby.”
Thousands of people shared kind words for the family on Dewey’s Instagram page. One person wrote, “I have no words. I am so incredibly sorry. Sending you and your family so much love and comfort.”
The parent of a child who received an organ transplant left a loving message. They wrote, “So sorry for your loss, my daughter got a liver transplant on Feb 21. He is definitely saving lives and making families whole again.”
“I’m so very sorry for what you are enduring. Saving 5 lives is absolutely remarkable and beautiful. My husband died 94 days ago. He saved 3 lives,” someone wrote of organ donation. “The best call for those families. Ever. Ever. Ever.”
Loved ones shared in the family’s heartache and created a GoFundMe account, raising more than $68,000 of a $100,000 goal thus far.
Dewey thanked those who have shown their family love during an unimaginable, frightening time. “Thank you to everyone who’s stood in faith and believed with us til the very end. I kissed him goodbye and whispered, ‘go save some lives baby.’ I’ll never forget,” she wrote on Instagram.
