A grandpa who beat cancer to make the birth of his first grandchild fought back tears of joy when he discovered his newborn grandson had been named after him.
Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, from Raleigh, North Carolina, said her dad Edward’s cancer diagnosis meant he wasn’t supposed to live past 18 months.
But now, five years later and with her dad cancer-free, Leigh-Kathryn planned a big surprise for him following the birth of her son.
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The 32-year-old is extremely close to her dad, and she and her husband Jeremy, 33, wanted to break the sweet news to Edward following the birth of their first child.
After a 39-hour labor, Leigh-Kathryn first welcomed her mom, Gayle, into the room, as Edward was running an errand.
As Gayle held her newborn grandson, Leigh-Kathryn thought of ways to break the news to her father when he arrived, only to then be presented with the perfect opportunity.
As Edward entered the room, Gayle joked she wasn’t letting go of her beloved grandson and so her husband couldn’t have him.
With Edward smiling at the joke, Leigh-Kathryn asked her father, “You may not be able to have him, but would you be willing to share your name with him?”
At that moment, everything clicked for Edward, who Leigh-Kathryn said never cries.
The 67-year-old immediately welled up, fighting back tears as he looked at his first grandchild, Oakley Edward Wall.
Leigh-Kathryn – named after both of her great-grandmothers – captured the moment on video, and later shared it on social media, where viewers commented they were in tears, too.
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She said: “We’re a southern family so having family names is an important part of who we are.
“He’s one of the most fiercely loving people I know and one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.
“My dad had an aggressive form of cancer a few years ago and wasn’t supposed to live past 18 months.
“However, here he is today five years later and has beaten, for now, the disease.
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“My dad is my hero and him being able to be here today to be one of Oakley’s grandpas is a gift we knew might not be possible.
“My husband and I had been joking that we were going to wait and tell my dad Oakley’s middle name until he got to meet him in person, because we wanted to see my father who never cries cry.
“The moment was everything we’d hoped it would be for my dad.”
