Awaiting the arrival of a baby can be the most precious time in a couple’s life. Making plans and sharing your hopes and dreams for this new life is such a privilege to experience.

But not every child is born into a picture of perfection; for many families they are thrown the most unfortunate curve balls that they just have to work around, despite the despair they may feel inside.

For the Aulger family in Texas the birth of their baby daughter Savannah in 2012 was a bittersweet experience.

Just before Diane and Mark’s fifth child was due to be born they were dealt a devastating blow. After getting the green light from the doctor that Mark was cancer-free he was then told eight months of chemotherapy had destroyed his lungs and he was diagnosed him with pulmonary fibrosis.

“We thought he could get on steroid treatment and oxygen and live for years,” Diane told ABC News.

Induced two weeks early

Just a month before their baby girl was due to arrive Mark, 52, was told he only had a week left to live.

Amid the pain of such devastating news, Diane had the courage to be induced two weeks early to give Mark the opportunity to meet his daughter before he died.

So in a larger than usual delivery room with Mark lying next to her with an oxygen mask over her face, Diane gave birth to Savannah on January 18.

Mark was able to hold his baby girl for 45 minutes and the one picture Savannah will have of herself with her father was taken. 

The next day, Mark attempted to hold Savannah again but could only manage a minute before he slipped into a coma, according to ABC News.

Five days after his daughter was born, the devoted husband and father-of-five died.

“The kids go on as if dad is really still here,” Diane told ABC News. “Mark was a very funny guy. My kids still tell jokes how they would when he was around. He would have been a wonderful daddy to Savannah.”

This family will never forget this man who was taken too soon. 

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