Dad Left in Tears at Wife’s Baby Shower After She Surprises Him with ‘Overwhelming’ Gift (Exclusive)

A moment of quiet tenderness took center stage in a room full of pastel decorations and expectant joy at one couple’s baby shower. 

Amid the laughter and gift opening, a white box was passed from wife to husband. Inside, nestled in soft tissue paper, was a teddy bear made of old clothes. 

A wave of emotion crashed over Isaac Adame, the soon-to-be father, once he realized the stuffed toy was stitched together using his late mother’s jeans – a symbol of love, legacy, and healing.

Lori Sharnick gave birth to Isaac at the age of 17. She was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer of the muscle tissue, and was told it was terminal on her 30th birthday. Lori passed away on April 28th, 2010, long before her son met his bride, Angelica.

“I wanted to surprise my husband with this gift because I knew how much it would mean to him to include his mom in some way,” Angelica tells PEOPLE exclusively. “If it was the other way around, I know I’d miss having my mom at my baby shower and feel sad if she wasn’t able to be a part of it.” 

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Angelica didn’t hesitate to shift the spotlight from the baby to her husband, gifting him something so personal and unexpected that it moved the entire room to tears. “It felt like the right time to give it to him while the rest of our loved ones were all in the room with us,” she says.

The idea behind the teddy bear stemmed from a hairstyling appointment. One of Angelica’s clients, who is a seamstress, mentioned the concept of memory bears — stuffed animals sewn from recycled clothes. 

“I knew immediately I wanted to do the same for my husband,” she shares. “I ended up going through a shop I found on Etsy who specialized in making bears out of loved ones’ clothes who have passed. I met up with my husband’s grandparents to get the jeans from them while my husband was working.”

Although Angelica never met Isaac’s mother, she had seen a photograph of Lori standing proudly by her motorcycle in a pair of worn-in jeans. “When my husband opened the bear, he knew exactly which jeans they were, too,” she recalls. “The denim blue color also felt right because we’re having a boy.”

After Isaac read the message written on the teddy bear, he realized the toy’s sentimental value. “I instantly broke down inside,” he admits. “I brought her ashes to the baby shower to have her there in that way, but seeing this bear and knowing our baby will have something of hers to be close to him… it was just overwhelming.”

Isaac admits to having a rocky relationship with his mother before her diagnosis. He was sent off to live with his dad during his early years.

“My mom did struggle to parent me…Her life wasn’t easy, and to be completely honest, her making the decision to have me stay with my dad instead was probably the best thing for me,” he says. 

Isaac learned at age 5 that the man raising him wasn’t his biological father, which triggered a years-long identity crisis. However, everything shifted when his mom was diagnosed with cancer. With limited time, they both worked to rebuild their relationship.

“She sacrificed her time with me for the betterment of my life,” he admits. “That taught me that for my kids, I must always put them first, even if that means putting my own wants and needs on the back burner.” 

The expecting father hopes he never has to make the same difficult choices his mother did, but wants to always do what’s best for his son.

“My mother’s passing taught me to cherish life because you never know when or how god will call you home,” Isaac admits. “My mom means everything to me, she impacts every part of my life. I want to live as fully as possible.”

Isaac turns 29 this year — the same age his mother was when she was first diagnosed. “I feel like that’s not enough time on this Earth with the ones I love, so every day past this is a blessing to me, and my mom taught me that,” he explains. 

As the high school sweethearts prepare to welcome their son, the teddy bear now holds a special place in their growing family.

“I am happy that our son will always have something to remember his Grandma Lori by,” Angelica says. “It will be sweet to think of her watching over him while he’s holding the bear, and I hope that it will make him feel like he can talk to her and have a relationship with her even if she’s not physically here.”

Credit: dotdashmeredith.com