Selfless last act of boy who choked in Frankfurt: Decklan Hayward donates organs and saves four people’s lives after seven-year-old choked on snack and died in Orange
- Decklan Hayward choked at school in Frankfurt
- Heartbreaking parental decision to turn off life support
- Decklan donated organs to save the lives of four people
A seven-year-old boy who died after choking on a Frankfurt cocktail at school has saved the lives of four people by donating his organs.
It was like any ‘normal’ day when Decklan Hayward was dropped off at his Glenroi Heights Public school in Orange, New South Wales on July 19.
A few hours later, Decklan’s mother Katie received a call from the school explaining that her son had been involved in a “choking incident.”
Decklan was laughing and playing with his friends during “crunch&sip” — a feeding program set up every day for kids to eat a healthy snack and drink water — when he started choking on a Frankfurt cocktail.
Despite the efforts of paramedics and teachers, Decklan went into cardiac arrest after being deprived of oxygen to his brain for 20 minutes.
Decklan Hayward choked on a frankfurt cocktail at Glenroi Heights Public School
The seven-year-old suffered extensive brain damage, with his family making the difficult decision to cut off his life support
Decklan and his mother were flown 155 miles to Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney, where he was put on a ventilator after suffering severe brain damage.
After eight days, Decklan’s parents made the heartbreaking decision to “let our boy grow his wings and go with the angels” and shut down the machines that kept him alive.
Family and close friends said goodbye to the seven-year-old on August 1.
Despite the tragedy, the young schoolboy managed to save the lives of four other people through organ donation – including his heart.
Decklan’s aunt Kaylah Hayward said her superhero nephew was given a “Walk of Honor” through the hospital.
the young schoolboy was able to save the lives of four other people – including his heart – through organ donation
She added that it was a “miracle” that Decklan could save someone’s life with his “good” heart.
“It’s very difficult and very rare to get a match for a heart, and it has to be accepted, but we’ve been told the surgery went well for the other little boy,” she shared. 7News.
“The way we see it, we may have lost him, but his heart is still beating.”
“And everyone who knew him knew he was…so beautiful. He was always worried about the others and not about himself.’
Kaylah also organized one GoFundMe page to help Decklan’s parents with funeral expenses.
“Anyone who has ever met Decky knows that he was the most sparkling, happy, funny boy and will always hold a special place in so many of our hearts,” she wrote.
“Anything, big or small, to take the financial stress off his parents and give our boy the farewell he deserves will be greatly appreciated.”
The GoFundMe has received over 500 donations and raised nearly $24,000 at the time of writing.