Kaden Daniels died after drowning at the Valley View Aquatic Center pool. Kaden Daniels' mother, Ciji Cook, wasn't at the Valley View Aquatic Center pool when her son drowned. She said it's one of her regrets.
Cook said she'll always remember the last moments she spent with her 5-year-old as she dropped him off with family for what was supposed to be a fun day at the pool.
"I said, 'You're my sweet one.' I got to say that to him and I hugged him and kissed him and I left, and that was the last time I saw him," said Cook. A few hours later, Kaden was found face down in the pool. Lifeguards and rescue crews tried to revive him.
Cook said she's grateful to the people who tried to help her son.
"They got a pulse back and I'm so thankful they did, so we could all have a chance to say goodbye to him," said Cook.
The hours that followed were full of tough decisions for Cook as she held Kaden's hand and begged him to wake up. When it became clear he never would wake up, she made what she calls the most difficult and fulfilling choice of her life -- to donate her son's organs.
"Those other parents that are sitting over their kids' beds waiting for a miracle, watching them just slowly and slowly. You know, I spent one night in that hospital, and I cannot imagine those parents that spend months there just waiting for that part, waiting for that donor. And especially in children, it's so hard to get, and so as far as I know a little boy or little girl in Chicago got his heart. It was a perfect match," said Cook.
Kaden's kidneys and liver saved lives, too.
Cook said it's what Kaden would have wanted.
"The true greatness that was in him was his nurturing and his love of everything, of everybody. He just loved everybody," said Cook.
She said the donations help the little boy who loved to smile, snuggle and play in laundry baskets live on.
"Since he didn't get to finish out his life and do the great things that he could have done, he helped save three other lives and that really helps a lot," said Cook. Kaden's parents had been teaching him to swim since he was 2 years old. They said no matter how much you teach your children about water safety, it's never enough.
A memorial fund has been established to help Kaden's family pay for medical bills and funeral expenses. You can send donations to any U.S. Bank branch in care of the "Kaden Daniels Memorial Fund."
You can learn more about organ donation in Iowa at www.iowadonornetwork.org