A woman who was two weeks from her delivery date whose husband was told he had only five days to live, had her labor induced so that the man could hold the child before he died.

The Associated Press is reporting on the bittersweet story of Mark Aulger, a 52 year-old man who lay dying in a hospital bed due to complications resulting from the chemotherapy he received for colon cancer. His wife, Diane, 31, was expected to deliver their daughter, Savannah, in two weeks, but when doctors said he had less than a week to live, he told her, “I’d like to see the baby.”

Hospital staff arranged for her and Mark to share a large labor and delivery room where she gave birth to Savannah on January 18. 

“Our beds were side by side,” Diane told the AP.

Mark held his daughter for about 45 minutes after she was born. Diane said he cried when tiny Savannah was laid in his arms, and “just looked very sad.” Over the next few days he held the baby a few more times for only about a minute or so because of his extreme fatigue.

On January 21, he slipped into a coma and died two days later.

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Photo of Mark Aulger holding Savannah with Diane beside him was provided to the AP by Diane Aulger.