Amber and Jeremy Hufman were thrilled when they found out she was pregnant for the first time.
They quickly scheduled an appointment at Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, Colorado, outside of Denver, and their joy only grew: Amber was pregnant with twins.
Their days quickly became a blur of doctors’ appointments and preparations for the two babies they’d welcome into the family. The months flew by and Amber reached 34 weeks, ready to soon deliver her two boys.
Then everything changed.
Amber was at home when she noticed something didn’t seem right—she couldn’t feel her twin boys move as much. She had an appointment the next day, so she didn’t worry too much about it.
She never imagined that when she went in for her appointment she’d receive heartbreaking news: one of her sons, Daniel, no longer had a heartbeat.
“It was a huge shock,” Amber remembers. “It took me a second to understand what my doctor was saying that morning but then it hit me hard—we had lost one.”
At that point, Amber’s care team knew they needed to rush Amber into an emergency C-section to save her other son, James.
What would follow would be two incredibly difficult weeks for Amber and Jeremy.
Amber’s team got her into surgery immediately. Before the C-section they were still holding out hope that they were wrong about the second heartbeat. But, after successfully delivering James, they confirmed that Daniel was stillborn.
It’s difficult to imagine what the Hufmans went through as they celebrated the birth of one child and yet mourned the loss of another.
“We had such conflicting emotions,” Amber said. “We were happy for the birth of one healthy child, but at the same time we felt so guilty for that happiness since we had just lost Daniel.”
Amber and Jeremy credit Avista’s caregivers for their ability to move forward after their loss. “The nurses were just phenomenal,” Jeremy said. “They were constantly checking on Amber throughout our stay—especially during that first night. Every time I woke up, it was comforting to see the nurse checking on Amber.”
“They handled everything with exceptional care,” Amber said. “They really went above and beyond, teaching us how to change diapers, how to feed him—all kinds of things.”
When Amber and Jeremy left the NICU two weeks later, they felt comforted by the support they received from the NICU staff at Avista. Jeremy added, “If we have another baby, it’s going to be at Avista because of how we were treated and the love we felt from each caregiver.”
The Hufmans are learning to enjoy life with James without so keenly feeling the loss of Daniel. And though they still have tough moments, each day is a bit brighter than the one before.
With gratitude to the Hufman family for their testament, this story is shared by the Avista Hospital Foundation.
