'Mom was happy raising you': Son who battled illness his whole life donates organs to save four

"Mom was so happy raising you. I will never forget you. My dear son, I miss you so much."

A man in his 30s who was diagnosed with epilepsy shortly after birth and spent his entire life battling illness saved four lives through organ donation before his death.

According to the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency, So In-hu, 34, donated his heart, liver and both kidneys at Jeonbuk National University Hospital on July 1.

Born in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, in 1991, So showed signs of seizures at around seven months of age and was later diagnosed with epilepsy.

As a child, he was able to walk with the help of a brace and support from others, but in his early 20s he suffered severe pneumonia that required intubation and left him in intensive care for an extended period.

His condition continued to deteriorate, eventually confining him to bed at home for more than a decade. In June, his health suddenly worsened and he was transferred to a hospital, but he never regained consciousness.

His mother, Yang Yeong-hui, said she asked medical staff whether her son's organs could even be donated, given how long he had been ill. She decided to go ahead, hoping that some part of him would live on in others.

So spent most of his time at home with his mother. Apart from hospital visits, a short walk once or twice a week was his only time outside.

The seizures in his early childhood left him unable to express himself verbally, and So communicated instead through facial expressions and gestures.

He was consistently cheerful, greeting his mother's words with a smile.

"That was what gave me the strength to endure all those years of caring for him," Yang said. "It wasn't so much that I kept him alive — if anything, he was the one keeping me going."

"I'm heartbroken that we had to part so soon, and it pains me not to be able to see you. In-hu, don't be sad that you can't be by my side. You will always be with me, in my heart."