Heartbreaking.
Shane Haley was born with a birth defect — and the gaze of millions of followers who gave him their thoughts and prayers. You see, he had the hearts of people all across the internet, and had gone viral for being known as the ‘Bucket List Baby’ before he even entered the world.
He has passed, just hours after being born.
Little Shane was born at 2:25 a.m. Oct. 9, and died at 6:15 a.m. His father gave the sad announcement to the growing online community dedicated to the baby, a Facebook group called Prayers For Shane.
Here’s what he wrote:
Today at 6:15AM, after meeting his entire family and being baptized into the Catholic faith, baby Shane died peacefully in his Mother’s arms .. we are so grateful for the time that we were blessed to hold and hug our son .. the support and prayers we have received from all of you have been amazing and we want to thank each of you with all our hearts .. Shane spent his entire life in the arms of people that loved him unconditionally and I don’t think you could ask for a more beautiful life then that .. he is home now with the Lord and will forever be our little miracle!
Dan and Jenna Haley created the page for their then unborn son, to capture all the experiences they could have with Shane, and making the most of their time with him while he was still with his mother and father.
That’s because Shane was diagnosed with anencephaly, a “complex neural defect that kills most infants soon after birth.”
The Facebook page went viral as Dan and Jenna shared their adventures. Among the items the Haleys crossed off Baby Shane’s bucket list: attending a Flyers game, visiting New York City, and even picking out a Halloween pumpkin. At the time of writing this, the page has 726k+ followers.
[ Related: Baby Born Via Womb Transplant ]
Our hearts go out to the family, and we are so so sorry. While it’s a massive loss, we’re glad that Shane was able to put his mark on the world before he had to leave it.
R.I.P. Shane.
[Image via Facebook.]