Strangers on Reddit help convert deceased woman's songs for infant son

Sharry Buhanan-Decker died while giving birth to her first child, JJ. (GoFundMe)

A grieving Utah father whose wife died giving birth to the couple’s first child said he was blown away by the kindness of strangers after turning to Reddit for help converting songs she had been working on before her death. Jared and Sharry Buhanan-Decker’s infant son, JJ, is now able to sleep while listening to his mother’s voice each night.

Sharry Buhanan-Decker died after suffering a rare complication called amniotic fluid embolism, which occurs when the fluid surrounding the baby in the fetus gets into the mother’s bloodstream, KUTV.com reported. JJ was delivered during an emergency C-section but was denied oxygen, which doctors feared may have caused permanent damage, according to the family’s GoFundMe campaign. According to the family’s blog, he is not showing any signs that would indicate complications.

Before their loss, Jared told the news site that they had been counting down the days until their son’s birth, and that music always played a large role in their relationship.

“Sharry played and sang beautifully and very few people ever had the privilege because she was so nervous of criticism and embarrassing herself,” Jared wrote on the couple’s blog. “She recorded a handful of songs though over the 12 years we were together.”

After his wife’s death, Jared found files that she had recorded but could not convert them. He posted on Reddit and within the first few hours received numerous offers to help.

“Odd request for help. My wife recently died during childbirth of our first baby, needless to say life has been hell the last two months. She dabbled in writing and recording songs nothing professional of course but very important to me,” Jared posted. “I found her backups but they are all in the PTF format which I have discovered is the “protools” session. I do not want to buy the expensive pro tools (Will if required) but want to figure out if there is any simple way to convert these into MP3 or another more user friendly format? She knew how to do all of this stuff but I have no idea. I just want to be able to hear her voice again. Thank you”

A user messaged him back the converted files, and now the father-son duo share special moments with Buhanan-Decker’s songs playing in the backdrop.