JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was breaking news the morning of July 11th.
As a parent, my heart sank to report two children were hit by a car on their way to school in Baker County. 14-year-old Kristen Connell was walking her little brother Sean to summer school.
He would never make it.
“I made him breakfast, French toast. He took five bites out of the two pieces he wanted and then headed off to school,” said his mother Angelina.
“Then my neighbor screamed for me to come outside.”
Within 15 minutes, Angelina Connell’s world came crashing down around her.
“I caught sight of Sean, he wasn’t moving, just laying there. I felt his skin, it was really cold.”
It’s the heartbreak of Angelina’s life. She opened up her home to us. It’s the place where she finds comfort being surrounded by memories of Sean. His room is exactly as he left it.
“He would ask me on occasion, why don’t you have a boy so I can have someone to play with?” Stories of days gone by are what Angelina clings to, along with the life lessons the child she brought into the world taught her.
Angelina shared story after story of Sean’s giving spirit. But the true test for her was moments after he was declared dead, when she was asked if she’d consider donating his organs.
“I told them no when they first asked me. I went to my son’s room and spent the night there, or almost all night and I talked to him. I knew if I couldn’t have him, he would want other people to have their kids and other kids to have their parents. So I told him, I would do it—not for me, but for him, so he could do what he did best—give.”
Angelina knows little of the children Sean saved. But she knows enough.
“We donated five [organs]. His heart and lungs went to an 11-year-old girl, she waited five years and he was a match. His liver went to a 3-month-old here in Florida. His pancreas went to a 4-year-old and both of his kidneys, one to a female and one to a male.”
Angelina was able to channel her son’s generosity and allow him to give one last time—to complete strangers across the country. She’s not concerned about who they are, she’s satisfied knowing Sean gave. He gave big. He gave the gift of life.
Angelina took me to a special place for her and her family a few miles down the road from where she lives.
It’s Sean’s final resting place. Dozens of neighbors and well-wishers donated money to this unemployed, single mom for her son’s burial.
A wonderful tribute to the boy who gave his life to children he’ll never meet.
“I’m very happy for them, that my son could help. They got these organs from a wonderful, caring little boy, who enjoyed being as wild as he could be.”
