A North Texas mother gave birth to her baby weeks early just so her terminally ill husband could hold her before he died.

Mark Aulger had beaten cancer shortly before Christmas, but didn't know that eight months of chemotherapy had destroyed his lungs, Dallas TV station WFAA reported.

"It was basically like his lungs were soaked in concrete. They couldn't inhale; they couldn't pass oxygen through the body. He was in essence suffocating to death," his wife, Diane Aulger, told the station.

In January, Mark Augler was given just days to live after being admitted to the hospital.

His pregnant wife decided to be induced two weeks early so he could meet their baby girl, Savanah.

"He got to be the first one to hold her, he held her for 45 minutes after she was born," Diane Aulger told WFAA.

Shortly after seeing the newest addition to the Aulger family, Mark went into a coma. He died five days later while holding Savannah in his arms, the station reported.