Before he was even born, Shane Michael Haley had already met the Philadelphia Phillies, been to the top of the Empire State Building and shared a cheese steak with his parents.
The priceless moments were part of a bucket list that Jenna and Dan Haley created after Shane was diagnosed in the womb with anencephaly, a birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull. The life expectancy for babies born with anencephaly is a few hours to a few days at most.
The Philadelphia couple made it through the list before baby Shane was born at 2:25 a.m. Thursday, according to their Facebook page. He died a few hours later.
“Today at 6:15 a.m., after meeting his entire family and being baptized into the Catholic faith, baby Shane died peacefully in his Mother’s arms,” the couple said on its Facebook page. “We are so grateful for the time that we were blessed to hold and hug our son.”
The couple’s story touched more than 700,000 people who followed their Facebook page for updates on Jenna Daley’s condition and their bucket list travels from the Jersey shore to Times Square.
“The support and prayers we have received from all of you have been amazing and we want to thank each of you with all our hearts,” the couple said. “Shane spent his entire life in the arms of people that loved him unconditionally and I don’t think you could ask for a more beautiful life then that.
“He is home now with the Lord and will forever be our little miracle!”