A nurse has given a sick mother hope amid a cancer diagnosis, by donating her breast milk.
Jaclyn Kenney, was working as a nurse in Nebraska Medical Centre, when she noticed a baby the same age as her own.
She learned that the child belonged to Ashley Chestnut, a mum-of-two who had just been diagnosed with lymphoma.
Chestnut had just been told that she had to stop breastfeeding her five-month-old son during chemotherapy, and she was devastated.
“Breastfeeding to me is a privilege, because for one reason or another, not all women can do it,” Chestnut told PEOPLE.
“I loved this special time with each of my kids, and I felt like it was being stolen away from me and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”
Being away from her children for treatment and having to abruptly stop breastfeeding affected Chestnut's morale.
“While I was in the hospital for my first treatment I was having to pump and then discard my milk and it was very discouraging and it made my morale pretty low,” she revealed.
“I was away from my kids, and for Easton it was the first time I was away from him for more than a couple hours, so you can imagine how down I was feeling.”
Kenney, who's daughter is a day older than Chestnut's, was dumping milk for a very different reason- she was overproducing.
That was until, she heard about Chestnut's distress. She recalls stepping into Chestnut's room to offer her assistance:
“I stopped in her room and asked if she would be interested in the breast milk, and she immediately broke into tears stating that I absolutely made her day after getting the news she could no longer breastfeed."
Chestnut was blown away by the offer, and immediately accepted:
“She’s an angel and an answered prayer. I just couldn't believe she was offering.”
Luckily for Chestnut, Kenney was following a dairy-free diet as her daughter had the same intolerance to dairy as her son did.
Not only has being able to give her son breast milk lifted a huge weight off of Chestnut's shoulders, but it also gave her back her fighting spirit.
“It felt like I was getting some control back. Like cancer wasn't going to take this from me after all. It completely helped change my attitude.
“I knew I was going to fight this tooth and nail but the affect on my kids was really hard for me to get past. With this burden lifted I was able to get my mind right to prepare for this fight.”
Amazing how a simple act of generosity can literally save someone's life.
