After Rhiannon Lindley was diagnosed with leukemia in January of 2018, mamas all over the U.S. offered breast milk donations for her infant daughter.Her diagnosis was B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and at the time, she was given three to four months to live.Lindley has four young children and is also the guardian for her 32-year-old developmentally disabled brother. Her youngest daughter, Adelaide, was only 4 months and 3 days old on the day Lindley was diagnosed.
Photo: Facebook/Rhiannon Lindley
Lindley soon discovered that the chemo treatments she’d have to go through would put an end to her ability to breastfeed.“Breastfeeding, to me, is about so much more than just a way to feed a child. It is a connection I’ve shared with all of my children and having that ripped away so suddenly was devastating,” she told Motherly.
Photo: Facebook/Rhiannon LindleySo Lindley put out a call on social media for breastmilk donations.And the offers came flooding in.
Photo: Facebook/Rhiannon LindleyShe ended up receiving thousands of ounces, from women she knew and from complete strangers.One mother in particular reached out with a heartbreaking story of her own. Stephanie Payne had lost her son, Ellison, in February of 2018. But in the midst of her own grief, she wanted to be able to use her breastmilk to help other mothers and keep his legacy alive.
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