Omaha mom donates 131 gallons of breast milk in honor of her late son

Issues of life: An Omaha, Nebraska mom, Demi Frandsen has been hailed as an inspiration and hero to her community for her incredible feat of generosity after she donated 17,503 oz., (131 gallons), of breast milk to her local hospital in honor of her late son, Leo who passed away at just 10 months old.



Frandsen spent months at the NICU at the Children's Hospital and Medical Center after her baby was born prematurely two months before due date.
Leo suffered from gastroschisis, from which he never recovered.

"There was no skin to pull over his exposed organs," Frandsen said, indicating that "it was kind of a new condition they had not seen before."

Leo had trouble taking in Frandsen's milk from the beginning which was one of the few ways in which his mother could feel like she was caring for him as Leo was covered in wires in the NICU.

"With a q-tip we'd put it in my milk and we'd swab his mouth," she said.

Leo, tragically passed away on October 22 2015 and ever since Frandsen and her family have never been the same.

"We're still trying to figure out how to live a life without such a big part of it, a little piece of our soul," she said.

"We miss our Leo," she laments, calling it ever-present.

"It's not even day to day. It's moment to moment."

Frandsen donated all her milk Leo couldn't drink before he died to the hospital as a sign of appreciation for how the hospital took care of her son for his entire life, even before he died she had started doing so.


After Leo died, she continued the effort, waking up every three hours to pump:

"My final donation was 17,503 ounces, which is 131 gallons."

"So, a dairy aisle, basically."

Frandsen's breast milk can now go to babies developing in the NICU, just like Leo.

"He was worth it. He was worth all of this," Frandsen said.

"His life in 10 months was the best 10 months of mine."