Mother Gives Her Life to Save Her Children after Shipwreck – She Breastfed Them for Days

In a heartbreaking story, a heroic mother used her unconditional love for her children to allow herself to lay down her life so they may continue to live out theirs.

On September 11, 2021, a funeral was held in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, for the 40-year-old mother of two, Mariely Chacón. This burial followed a tragic scene where Chacón was found in a tiny lifeboat with her children clutching her lifeless body.

Officials from INEA stated that this mother managed to help her 6-year-old son Jose David and her 2-year-old daughter Maria Beatriz Camblor Chacón survive by drinking her own urine and breastfeeding them.

Chacón, her kids, and their 25-year-old nanny Verónica Martinez, who was also found alive, ended up drifting in the open waters after September 3, 2021, when a giant wave wrecked the pleasure cruise they were on. Her dad Humberto Chacón expressed:

"[It was] simply a family trip to entertain the children."

It was only four days later when officials found the four adrift. The children were taken to a medical facility in Caracas, where they were reportedly treated for physical issues and injuries, and trauma related to the incident.

The nanny was also treated for burns in the first degree as well as dehydration. Martinez was found in an empty icebox in an assumable attempt to escape the scathing heat and dehydration.

Her 29-year-old son, blind in both eyes, found her as he followed her cries for help.

It has been officially confirmed that the 40-year-old mother herself passed away from organ failure from dehydration. It is estimated that she died only three to four hours before the rescuers found them.

The children, mother, and nanny were four out of nine people on the cruise, none of which had been found. INEA has stated:

"We share the pain of the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy."

Amongst the missing casualties is Jose and Maria's father, Remis Clambor. Sadly, a spokesperson for INEA expressed the chances of finding these individuals are low.

As this selfless mother embodied, the love people tend to have for their families sometimes defies human understanding. In one case, the tables were turned, where the child saved the mother.

Hurricane Ida tore through the lives of those in New York City. 47-year-old Danette Rivera, attempting to escape from the storm, ran to her basement. Moments later, it quickly began filling up with water, almost touching the ceiling, with Rivera unable to escape.

Her 29-year-old son, blind in both eyes, found her as he followed her cries for help through the basement's slit window open and pulled her out. Although cliche, the adage that family comes first, rings true for both of these incidents.