Melissa "Lessa" Bena Mercado was named after her grandmothers who were both true fighters with their own health battles. She was born on January 17, 2013 after a high-risk pregnancy. Only six weeks later, Katty Mercado took her daughter Lessa to the hospital with a high fever. The fever came down, and the family left, only to become involved in a tragic car accident that sent everyone back to the hospital. Lessa could not survive, and the Mercados decided to donate her organs so another family would not have to suffer as they had. Lessa was able to save two people's lives with her heroic gift.

Melissa's Story

Melissa "Lessa" Bena Mercado was named after her grandmothers who were both true fighters with their own health battles. She was born on January 17, 2013, to a loving family with four other children. Her mother, Katty Mercado, recalled that they had been told it was a severe, high-risk pregnancy but she and her husband wanted to fight and the hope that their baby would be born healthy. So they gave Melissa Bena the best names they could.

Her birth "was a wonderful moment that we will continue to cherish forever," Katty said. "Our children were so mesmerized by their new baby sister. Our family was now complete."

On March 4, 2013, Lessa developed a high fever. Katty took her to the hospital immediately, and the fever came down. As they were driving home from the hospital, the family was involved in a tragic car accident that caused all of them to be rushed back to the hospital.

"It was a night I will never forget," Katty said. "Our healthy baby girl, who was fine and discharged from the hospital just minutes ago, was now laying in a crib in the PICU, barely clinging to life". Two days later, it was concluded that she was not going to survive.

Lessa's parents decided that they did not want another family to suffer as they had, and they made the decision to donate their baby's organs. She saved the lives of two people with her gifts.

Katty admitted that "Every waking minute of our lives, we continue to mourn our beautiful daughter. There is not a day that goes by that her name doesn't roll off our tongues or a tear doesn't shed off our faces thinking of her. However; we have a small bit of peace, knowing that two other families do not have to go through the hardest and most painful thing we have ever had to go through."

Lessa is now the Mercados' "forever six-week-old" because she will never age. She will never be forgotten.