RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond mother thought she would be planning her toddler's hospital homecoming, but instead, she is mourning his loss and hoping to give him a proper funeral.
Sha’mir Bosher-May was born on August 16, 2016.
Born with twisted intestines, just weeks after his birth, Sha'mir had a small bowel, pancreas and liver transplant. A case so rare, only a handful of hospitals nationwide had performed the surgery.
Doctors at Georgetown Medical Center said, at just seven pounds, Sha’mir was the smallest baby to ever receive the transplant.
"It went pretty well because they didn't think they could do it with a baby his size and he would survive," said Bosher. “He definitely beat a lot of odds.”
Not only did Sha'mir live, he thrived despite living most of his first year at the hospital.
“He was just like a regular baby. Even with the tubes. He wasn’t scared of the tubes. Everyone else was scared of it, he didn’t pay any attention,” explained Bosher.
In fact, Sha’mir was learning how to walk and his future looked bright.
That all changed in July when Sha’mir was diagnosed with pancreatitis. In three months, his lungs, kidney, and then heart failed.
“They called me and told me I needed to get there because they didn’t think he was going to make it," explained Bosher. "I asked them how when the day before he was doing so good and they were ready to take the mask off."
On November 8, just four days after the second anniversary of his transplant, Sha’mir died.
"His lungs filled up with fluid and then his heart stopped," his mom said.
Bosher is now holding onto to every sweet memento and memory she has of her baby boy.
“I tell him every day I loved him, every day and that he was the strongest person and baby I ever knew.”
Now, she hopes to give her son a proper funeral.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to give Sha’mir a beautiful home-going fitting for a little boy Bosher says brought her so much hope and happiness.