Two mothers connect over a song, one son’s heart and another’s life saved

PORTLAND, Ore. — Death can be tough to talk about. But sometimes, one death might mean new life for someone else.

We spoke with two mothers, who’ve seen the good that can come from tragedy.

“In 2007, my two-and-a-half-month-old son Jake stopped breathing,” said Holly Campbell.

She said she and her husband tried to save their son, but doctors said he had irreversible brain damage.

“When we knew there was no chance of recovery, my husband and I asked about organ donation,” Campbell said.

A perfect match was found, states away.

“We knew our story was going to have this tragic end, but it could have a silver lining and we could do something to change someone’s life for good,” Campbell said.

As she said goodbye to her son Jake, she sang to him.

“I sang the song ‘For Good’ from Wicked because the line ‘you’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart’ really resonated with me,” Campbell said.

Then, Jake’s heart began its journey to another baby boy, named Beckham.

“Beckham was born in 2007 and we thought he was perfectly healthy,” said Kim Scadlock, Beckham’s mother. “But about an hour after he was born, they noticed he had a heart murmur and he was blue … They didn’t think he’d live through the night.”

Scadlock said doctors told her that Beckham’s only chance at life would be a heart transplant. 

“When he was 16 days old, he got his heart transplant,” Scadlock said.

“After his surgery I wasn’t allowed to hold him … I was stroking his head and the first thing I did was sing the song ‘For Good’ from Wicked,” said Scadlock.

It was a moment of connection neither mother could have known about at the time — the same song, carried from one hospital room to another. 

“I remember holding Beckham in the middle of the night, feeding him and I would cry because I knew there was another mom somewhere else, that her arms were empty,” said Scadlock.

Meanwhile, Campbell and her husband wanted to know more about the boy that had Jake’s heart. They used the information they had to scour the internet and stumbled onto a news story, which led them to Scadlock’s personal blog, meant to keep out-of-state family and friends updated. They followed Beckham’s progress for a year, before Scadlock wrote that she was planning to send the donor family a letter. Campbell waited in excitement.

Scadlock followed through on her plan.

“Kim wrote, ‘We were told that right when they put your baby’s heart into our son’s chest, that it immediately began to beat. The surgeon said that he did not have to do anything to the heart, that the heart just wanted to beat and live. All we can say is thank you. Thank you for giving our son the gift of life when a life was taken from you,’” said Campbell, reading from Scadlock’s letter.

“We loved Beckham. We’d never met him, but we loved him,” she added.

It wasn’t long after the letter that they met in person and decided to spread the word about organ donation.

Their story has touched millions as they’ve gone on to roles as keynote speakers and even performers — on stage at America’s Got Talent, singing “For Good” together in 2023.

“I can’t believe that really happened. We’re just, we’re just two moms,” Campbell said.

“Why we chose to do that was to promote organ donation,” said Scadlock.

“We just wanted to change some hearts,” Campbell added.

Speaking of hearts, Beckham graduates high school this year. In a way, it also means a part of Jake gets to graduate, too.

Scadlock has an Oregon connection. She initially lived in Iowa when her son received Jake’s heart, then moved to Eugene. Now they call New York home. Campbell lives in Upstate New York.

Laura Ellsworth is the executive director of Donate Life Northwest, a nonprofit educating people in Oregon and Southwest Washington about the importance and impact of organ, eye and tissue donation. She said there’s a huge need for lifesaving transplants.

“The average wait time for a kidney in our area is five years,” said Ellsworth. “A tissue donor can save and improve the lives of more than 150 people. We’re talking skin for burn victims, which is incredibly lifesaving, joints for mobility.”

If you’d like to learn more about organ donation, head to Donate Life Northwest’s website.