When the parents had to say goodbye to their 3-month-old daughter, they thought this painful period would never end. However, life had a real miracle in store for them.
Samantha and Joshua Seedorf of Waterville, Ohio, were already parents of a 3-year-old boy, Jude, at the beginning of 2020, but they really wanted to expand the family. When Samantha got pregnant and it turned out they were expecting a baby girl, they couldn’t have been happier. Jude was also very happy that his little sister was born, according to his mother, he literally jumped and cheered for joy.
Marren Rose Seedorf was born on November 27, 2020, and Samantha took extra care to look after her because she somehow felt that Marren was particularly vulnerable and in need of protection. She thought it might all be due to postpartum anxiety, but in any case, she stayed home with the baby that winter.
However, when spring came, the parents had to start working again. In March 2021, Joshua, who served in the United States Air Force, left home for a 3-month assignment. Samantha worked from home, but before that she took Jude to daycare and Marren to a babysitter.
One Thursday morning, as usual, Samantha took Jude to daycare and Marren to the babysitter. Later, after finishing work, she rested for a short time and then went to the gym. Then she texted Marren’s babysitter and told her she was on her way to get the little girl. There was no response, which was unusual, but Samantha wasn’t particularly worried, as she figured she must be very busy with the children in her care.
A road closure forced her to avoid it, and shortly before she arrived, the babysitter called her back, but it was immediately clear from her voice that something was wrong. “The baby is not breathing!” she shouted into the phone.
Samantha tried to stay calm and assured the babysitter that she didn’t blame her for anything. The mother also learned later that the woman had tried to revive her daughter, for which she was extremely grateful. Samantha immediately rushed the baby to the hospital, where they diagnosed sᴜᴅᴅᴇɴ ᴄᴀʀᴅɪᴀᴄ ᴀʀʀᴇsᴛ.
She couldn’t believe it was actually happening. She held her daughter’s hand and prayed for her to wake up, then heard the nurses yell that the baby had a pulse. After Joshua arrived, Marren was transferred to another hospital. The couple spent the next 12 hours praying for a miracle, but doctors repeatedly told them that Marren’s condition was not very promising.
Finally, a doctor called them into a separate room and told them it was time to say goodbye to their little girl. “We have chosen to lay down next to our sweet baby as she leaves this world and enters heaven. I saw a small smile on Marren’s lips. That was the moment when I knew that she saw something beautiful and found peace,” said Samantha.
Little Marren ᴅ.ɪ.ᴇ.ᴅ on March 25, 2021. The doctors determined that the cause of the little girl’s ᴅ.ᴇ.ᴀ.ᴛ.ʜ was sudden ɪɴꜰᴀɴᴛ ᴅ.ᴇ.ᴀ.ᴛ.ʜ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ. The parents were completely devastated by the grief, but they knew they had to stay strong for Jude’s sake. Over time, the couple decided to try again to have children. They knew they could never replace Marren, but they desperately wanted to be parents again.
However, doctors told them that I.V.F was their only option. They started with a genetic test because they definitely wanted another girl. However, it turned out that they only had a few usable ᴇᴍʙʀʏᴏs and they were all boys. But Samantha felt she needed a little princess to heal her heart after ʟᴏsɪɴɢ Marren.
After reading the test results, he found a girl ᴇᴍʙʀʏᴏ. Doctors did not recommend this option because the ʀɪsᴋ of ᴍɪsᴄᴀʀʀɪᴀɢᴇ was high and there was only a 40% chance of success. However, after some thought, the couple decided to implant this ᴇᴍʙʀʏᴏ and one of the boy’s ᴇᴍʙʀʏᴏs.
The first pregnancy test did not show a clear result yet, but a second test and a ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ test confirmed the pregnancy. A few weeks later, at the first ultrasound examination, it was also revealed that everything was perfectly fine and that both ꜰᴇᴛᴜsᴇs were fine. In June 2022, the couple’s twins, Sunny Grace, were born, followed 9 minutes later by Barron Henry.
Samantha and Joshua feel like Marren is watching over them from above, and although they will always miss her, she will always be with them in a way.
“Many times we wanted to give up and just swim in the sadness,” said Samantha, who wanted to give advice to other parents who find themselves in a similar situation. “Don’t give up on yourself even in the darkest of times. It’s worth going on,” she said.
Source: babieshealthus.com
