As he held his newborn baby in his arms, his heart was filled with love and sadness because this is the first and the last time he will see his sweet child.

It was December 2011 when Mark Aulger, who was 52 years old at that time, cheered and celebrated the news that he was finally cancer-free after 8 long months of chemotherapy. Then the whole family received exciting news!

Diane Aulger, Mark’s wife, was pregnant with their fifth child!

The Aulger’s Christmas was full of hope, dreams, and happiness. They enjoyed their holidays, and they were all excited to welcome their new baby.

January 3, 2012, the start of the New Year, brought an unexpected turn of events. Mark was suddenly admitted to the hospital. He was having a hard time breathing, so the doctors examined him to see what was wrong.

Unfortunately, the head of the Aulger family was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. It was the result of chemotherapy.

Still hopeful, the family decided to seek treatment and to put him on oxygen. After all, they were able to overcome cancer, right?

“We thought he could get on steroid treatment and oxygen and live for years,” Diane told her interview with ABC News.

Days passed, and on January 16, 2012, the doctors broke the bad news to the family.

Mark only had one week to live.

It was more than just devastating. The family was hit with a piece of news that you just can’t process. They were able to beat cancer, right?

What went wrong? Mark’s family had so many questions, so much pain.

The following day, Mark’s doctor came in and said to Diane, ‘When are you going to have this baby?’

Diane knew what had to be done. She and the doctors decided to induce labor so that Diane can give birth two weeks early.

She wanted to make sure that her husband and their baby would get to meet – even it was the first and last time.

On January 18, as Mark laid in a bed nearby, Diane gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Savannah.

“The day she was born his oxygen levels were really high,” said Diane in her interview. “He held her for 45 minutes. Him and I just cried the whole time.”

Mark treasured every minute that he held his daughter. It was his only chance to show her little girl that he loved her so much.

The following day, Mark woke up and asked for her daughter again. He attempted to hold tiny Savannah again but he could only do so for a minute.

Soon after, he went into a coma.

It was like he waited for Savannah to be born before he went into a coma. Diane knew it was almost time and her heart was shattered.

“If she cried, he would shake his head and moan,” Diane continued. “I put her on him when he was in the coma a few times and his hand would move toward her.”

On January 23rd, Mark died on his hospital bed.

Today, Savannah is a beautiful young lady. She may not remember her father, but she knows her father loved her so much with her sibling’s stories.

Watch the heartbreaking moment as Mark meets Savannah here.

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Source: ABC News, Huffpost, Diane Aulger, The Doctors