After the birth, David lost his wife Joan and couldn’t even look at their child or touch her things.But after working with a therapist, he finally started to deal with Joan’s belongings.He charged her phone and discovered several text messages that changed everything.
“Despite all our efforts, we couldn’t save your wife.
She’s gone, sir.”
Those terrible words echoed in David’s head several times a day since his beautiful daughter was born.
But he couldn’t even look at her when he left the hospital.
He was so devastated that his beloved Joan was no longer alive.
Fortunately, his mother took care of the baby as best she could.
David did the bare minimum, so deep in his grief that he couldn’t see anything around him.
But one day, his mother couldn’t take it anymore and insisted that he see a therapist immediately.
He agreed and began therapy to work through his despair.
Finally, he felt that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and although the doctor’s words still appeared in his mind, they no longer hurt as much.
His mother was proud of him, but David still didn’t dare hold his child in his arms.
He was still working on himself together with the therapist.
Maybe one day he would hold her.
Or maybe he should give her away to someone who could be a better parent, he sometimes thought.
But he quickly pushed that thought away.
Today was about something else.
He was going through Joan’s things, organizing them, and donating some to charity.
He hadn’t touched her hospital bag since he brought the baby home.
It hurt too much.
But for the first time in three months, he was brave enough to do it.
He opened the bag and found her cell phone.
The battery had died during the birth and hadn’t been charged since.
He plugged his phone into the charger and began going through Joan’s things.
An hour later, he picked up the phone again and saw several missed calls and messages.
At first, some of the messages were congratulations, because Joan’s friends knew she had given birth.
But one of her friends, Melissa, had continued to write even after the news of Joan’s death spread.
“I’m not the only one who misses her,” he thought as he read the messages, smiling at the fact that his wife had such wonderful friends.
But something about one of the messages made him frown.
“It’s so tragic that you sacrificed your life…” Melissa wrote.
David didn’t understand.
Joan died from an unexpected complication.
But something about this message felt strange.
As if Melissa knew Joan would die in childbirth.
He had to find out more, so he scrolled up to the beginning of their conversation.
Most of the messages were about Joan’s pregnancy, how excited she was, how she was looking forward to everything, how their baby would be the best and most beautiful thing in the world.
But after a few months, the conversation took a different turn.
“The doctors said something scary,” Joan wrote.
“What? What’s going on? Are you okay?” Melissa asked anxiously.
“They said I have high blood pressure and that it could develop into preeclampsia. The doctor said I should terminate the pregnancy,” Joan replied.
“No! Honey, it’s terrible. But what if you die? What did David say?” Melissa asked.
“He wasn’t with me. I didn’t tell him anything. He dreams so much of a baby. We’ve been trying for 10 years, Melissa. I can’t end this pregnancy,” Joan replied.
“Joan, you could die! He wouldn’t want that. He loves you!”
“I know, Mel. But it’s our baby. I love him or her. I’m willing to take the risk,” Joan wrote.
David couldn’t believe it.
His wife had risked her life despite the doctors’ warnings, just to make him happy.
It was true.
He had really wanted to be a father for so long, and now he was ashamed.
He hadn’t even touched his baby since they left the hospital.
The rest of the conversation consisted of Melissa asking how Joan was doing.
Joan always replied that she was fine, but that the doctor had said that sometimes the symptoms weren’t noticeable.
David couldn’t remember if the doctors had said anything about preeclampsia, but he had stopped listening as soon as they told him his wife was dead.
“What am I going to do now?” he asked himself as he hung up the phone.
“Should I let Mom raise the child Joan sacrificed her life for?”
David burst into tears, but this time he didn’t drown in self-pity.
This time the tears were a release, a thank you to his late wife for her sacrifice, and a sign of determination.
He was going to be the best father in the world.
Their daughter, Georgina Joan Sanders, would grow up surrounded by love and stories about her amazing mother.
He was going to make sure of that.
He picked up his phone and called his mother.
“Mom, bring the baby. I’m ready.”
“Oh, thank God!” the older woman exclaimed, almost in tears.
What can we learn from this story?
•
Honor your partner’s sacrifices.
Even if your partner is still alive, you need to understand all the gifts they give you every day. You should be grateful.
• Seek help when you need it.
David couldn’t have processed his grief without help, and he was brave enough to ask for support instead of drowning in grief.
• Share the story with your friends.
It can lift their spirits and inspire them.