Mum who had to stop breastfeeding to save sight gets 200 bags of donated milk

When Marcy Morgan had to take medication for an eye condition she was devasted because it meant she would have to stop breastfeeding her five-month-old daughter.

But luckily friends stepped in and donated an amazing 200 bags of their own breast milk.

The mother-of-three posted a plea on Facebook asking if anyone could donate any surplus breast milk.

Marcy, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, USA, wrote: ‘I am looking for any of you who might have an oversupply of frozen breast milk or know of someone trustworthy who has extra milk.

‘I know I can go for donor milk but I would feel so much more comfortable if I knew the mom who produced it.’

She added: ‘Her getting breast milk is so important to me.

‘It’s all I know.

‘I’m so heartbroken that I have to stop nursing her.

‘Between all three of my kids, I can say I’ve breastfed for 35 months and it’s something I’m so proud of.’

But five friends Jill Eggert, 28, DeAnne Green, 27, Lavonne Burgess, 25, Megan Samland, 26, and Jordan Stockwell, 30, stepped in to offer their own milk for her baby Savannah.

Later Brittney McCarthy, 27, also pitched in and donated a whopping 500 ounces.

Marcy knew Brittany, a hairstylist, Megan, a nurse, Jill, a dance studio owner, and DeAnne, a jeweller, from high school.

She knew Lavonne, a makeup distributor, through mutual friends and Jordan was a nurse at Marcy’s children’s pediatric clinic.

Marcy said: ‘I was overwhelmed that these women I had gone to school with came through for me.

‘Some of them I hadn’t talked to for a while, it was amazing.

‘Jill delivered the first batch, she bought bags upon bags to my car.

‘I was floored by how much milk these moms gave me.’

Marcy started to experience blurred vision soon after giving birth to Savannah.

‘I thought it was just hormones after the pregnancy and the delivery,’ she said.

‘But it got worse. It felt like I was looking out of a glass bubble.

‘When I was driving, straight lines appeared curved.’

She visited an ophthalmologist who informed her that a blood vessel was growing near the macular at the back of her left eye.

She needed an injection to stop it growing and affecting her vision even more but the medication meant she couldn’t breastfeed for six months and she thought she was going to have to switch to formula.

‘I broke down, I was devastated,” Marcy said.

‘I remember sitting in my living room and writing out a Facebook status.

‘I reached out to my friends and said that if they had any extra breast milk, I would gladly take it off their hands.

‘I knew that formula was an option but breast milk is best for the first six months of life.

‘My other two children had breast milk for at least six months and I wanted to give Savannah the same thing.’

The donations mean Marcy will be able to keep giving Savannah breast milk while she was taking the medication as she had around 1500 ounces.

She said: ‘I breastfed my eldest for 17 months and my second daughter for 14 months.

‘I planned to do the same with Savannah.

‘I am very passionate about breastfeeding.

‘I just know that breast milk is the best thing I can give my baby because my body made it.

‘It also creates a bond you can’t really describe.’

DeAnne, one of the women who donated, confessed that her heart “ached” when she read Marcy’s Facebook plea.

She said: ‘In today’s society, mothers are under so much pressure to be the ‘perfect mom’.

‘I am so proud of Marcy that she reached out and asked for help and was so vulnerable.

‘My heart absolutely ached for her.’

DeAnne admitted she did hesitate about donating her milk but soon thought of little Savannah.

She said: ‘I thought: ‘what if I get sick or I lose my supply?’

‘I would need that frozen ‘liquid gold’.

‘But if I was in Marcy’s situation, I would want nothing more than to know that my baby was getting safe milk from a loving mother who I actually know.’

Brittney also said she felt compelled to donate when she read Marcy’s emotional Facebook post.

She said: ‘I saw Marcy’s post and decided it was time to donate.

‘I gathered it all up and realized I had over 500 ounces.

‘I can’t even count the amount of time pumping that took to accumulate.

‘Because it is a lot of work and because it’s something so priceless, I had a hard time letting it go.

‘It wasn’t easy for me. It was emotional.

‘When she came to pick it up, Savannah was sleeping peacefully in the back of her car and I was loading it into coolers.

‘Seeing a baby that you get to help is indescribable.’

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