Rockford family honors late woman and her unborn daughter through organ donation

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Last November, Ashley Russell was celebrating her birthday and anticipating the arrival of her first child when the unthinkable happened.

“We got the call from her boyfriend that she had a seizure and she was not coming out of it,” said Russell’s mother, Anne Moorman.

Russell, who suffered from epilepsy, underwent emergency surgery to save her unborn daughter a few hours later, but the prognosis was dire.

“We came back to the hospital and we decided to let her go so she could be at peace,” Moorman said.

Russell was 31 years old. Her daughter, Tilly, passed 10 days later.

On Tuesday, at UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital in Rockford, a flag was raised in honor of the two, their organs and tissues donated, something Moorman said was dear to Russell’s heart.

Russell worked at OSF Saint Anthony.

“There are just so many people that need, not just the organs, but they are doing research with the tissue,” said Moorman. “Even one child, one family to join. Another birthday, another celebration, another day with your family. It’s so important. That would make me feel better. I think my family feel better.”

March 26th is Epilepsy Awareness Day and the family encourages others to volunteer, donate, or simply wear purple in support of the cause.