The Important Cause Sharon Stone Is Promoting After Her Infant Nephew's Death

Sharon Stone went through an unspeakable tragedy at the end of August when her infant nephew was found in his crib in total organ failure and had to be airlifted to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh where he spent his last days of life, according to his mother's Facebook post. River William Stone died on August 30, 2021, just eight short days before his first birthday (via Yahoo).

River was the son of Stone's brother, Patrick Stone, and his wife, Tasha. When he was first found sick, Stone took to Instagram asking for good thoughts and explaining what happened next to a photo of the baby hooked up to tubes. "My nephew and godson River Stone was found in his crib [with] total organ failure today. Please pray for him. We need a miracle."

Just a few days later Stone took to Instagram to share the sad news that River had passed away. A few weeks later, Stone was able to share with PEOPLE what helped sustain her family through this difficult time.

Sharon Stone, who is mother to three teenagers, and her family have been going through unimaginable grief since River's sudden death, with his mother posting the following to Facebook: "God needed River in Heaven. I can't say more than I needed him here on Earth because my heart is shattered into a million pieces. My days will never be the same and I have no idea how I am supposed to live my life without the sweetest boy in the universe."

However, one simple act has given the family a sense of peace. Stone revealed to People that River's organs were donated and stressed the importance of organ donation. She also explained how donating the little boy's organs has been a comfort. 

Stone told People, "The fact that my godson was able to save three lives, two infants and a 45-year-old man was a sanctuary for our family. I can only say that you never, never know when a tragedy will happen in your life or in your family, but this opportunity to be an organ donor, it saved us, saved our family. Many people have many different thoughts about this, but in the end, it gave us some peace."