Victoria and her husband Nathan waited two years to find out they were pregnant for the first time. They were over the moon excited and immediately in love with this little bundle.
Her pregnancy went very smoothly, no complications, and around 13 weeks they found out they were expecting a little girl. The nursery was complete, they were so ready to meet her, and they went to the hospital at just over 40 weeks to be induced. They walked into the hospital, so happy and somewhat naïve, believing that they’d leave in a few days with their sweet little girl.
Delivery had complications involving the decreasing of baby’s heart rate during contractions and Annika Charlotte Ells was delivered via emergency c-section on February 6, 2024. Within the first couple of hours she was transported to the provincial children’s hospital as she was experiencing seizures due to lack of oxygen during birth.
Over the next week Annika’s parents spent time with her in the NICU and it became apparent that due to the lack of oxygen during birth she had a condition called HIE and her path was palliative. Devastated is an understatement for how Victoria and Nathan felt over the coming weeks as they vowed to spend as much time with their little brown eyed, dark haired little girl as possible. While they still treasure the month they spent with her in the NICU it will never be enough.
Annika passed away on March 7, 2024 and her parents were in a situation they never expected to find themselves : planning their baby’s funeral. It was easily the single worst thing they’ve ever experienced and at the age of 30, they hope it’s the hardest thing they will ever go through.
Victoria and Nathan started their fertility journey later in 2024 as they knew they would mentally struggle with trying month after month again. Their first round of IVF resulted in a positive pregnancy test and they’re expecting their rainbow baby later in 2025.
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