After Giving Birth, Mother Passes Away From Fatal Pulmonary Embolism — Her Parenting Blog Lends Support To Father

Feb 02, 2022 by apost team

In 2008, a first-time father was suddenly left alone after his wife died from a massive pulmonary embolism the day after having a C-section. Matt Logelin met his wife Liz when they were still in high school. The couple dated for eight years before deciding to get married. Everything in their life seemed picture-perfect when Liz got pregnant, but some serious health concerns left her hospitalized for weeks during her pregnancy. 

Liz had low amniotic fluid, and at one point the cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck. There were several times that Liz almost delivered early, so she was put on five weeks of bed rest, with three spent in the hospital. During this time, Liz updated a mommy blog so her friends and family could know how she was doing and what was happening. 

Due to all of the health concerns, the doctors decided Liz should deliver via C-section. After the baby girl was removed, Liz got to see her for a moment before the nurses took her away. The new mom was told she had to remain in bed for 24 hours following the surgery. When the time finally came that she could get up and go see her baby, as soon as Liz stood she felt dizzy and lightheaded. Almost immediately she collapsed. 

There was a massive blood clot in Liz’s leg that traveled to her lungs. Matt was told that her death was nearly instant. The new dad was left alone to care for his daughter, Madeline, and he was left with many unanswered questions. Surprisingly, after Matt decided to update Liz’s blog with the news of her passing, thousands of readers outpoured advice and support for the father. Read on to learn more about this moving story.

In 2009, Matt was a guest on Rachel Ray’s talk show and he shared the story of his wife’s passing. The widower shared what his wife was like when he first met her. He said, “She was perfect. She was perfect in every way. She was smart, funny. We had been together 8 years before we actually got married.”

Matt recalled the moment when the nurses came to retrieve Liz from her hospital room so she could go see Madeline. He shared, “They got her up and she started to walk around the room a little bit. Then she just said, ‘I feel light-headed,’ and dropped.”

The father added, “She had a blood clot in her leg that traveled up to her lungs and then blocked both passageways in the lungs. It was so massive, it was pretty much instant.”

A time in Matt’s life that was supposed to be dedicated to the joy of first baths and late-night feedings was suddenly filled with heart-rending grief. "It went from my version of perfection to absolute hell," he said. "My wife is dead. I mean, what the hell do I do? I didn't know how to live without her."

After logging onto Liz’s mommy blog, Matt decided to keep updating it with his experiences as a first-time father. He said, "I just wanted to give them visual proof that I was succeeding.”

The blog grew to new heights, with 40,000 readers a day that offered up support or answered questions. "I never dreamt that people would actually give me advice or that they would actually help me through this process," Matt explained. "It helps me every day."

In 2021, Matt’s story was turned into a Netflix movie called “Fatherhood.”

apost.com

Did this story touch your heart? What advice would you offer to a first-time dad? Let us know and be sure to pass this on to your friends and family.