Brave mother pregnant through IVF 6 months after husband dies
"I'm not scared. I'm so excited to meet this little person. It's hard to process, but just having a chance to meet another one of Sam's children, it just blows my mind."
Kristen Tripson, a mother of two from Florida (USA), announced to the world that she was pregnant with her third child this past April. While a mother of two deciding to have a third child may not sound particularly newsworthy, Tripson’s tale is one truly worthwhile.
Tripson’s husband died six months prior due to stage IV lymphoma. However, when she and her husband, Sam, found out about his condition in 2012, they decided to try IVF and preserve the embryos shortly after his first bone marrow transplant.
Tripson initially announced the pregnancy through an Instagram post saying, “Well, I’m pregnant. And, yes. It’s Sam’s.”
Her Instagram account has since been made private, though she disclosed the contents of the post with outlets such as Us Weekly and Cosmopolitan. “Though we never talked much about ‘the end,’ we did talk about our embryos,” she wrote in her announcement post via Instagram. “I know it’s a very personal, private subject, but to us, they were our potential children. On ice. It was always our plan, regardless of what happened, that they would have a chance at life.”
Source: Kristen Tripson/Instagram via Us Weekly
Kristen’s choice was never an easy one to make, but this mother knew it was the right one to make. In an interview with Us Weekly she spoke of her situation and the challenges ahead: “I know this isn’t going to be easy. I’m not scared. I’m so excited to meet this little person. It’s hard to process, but just having a chance to meet another one of Sam’s children, it just blows my mind.”
Perhaps a component of Kristen’s bold decision is her desire to hold on to her husband’s memory. “He was so funny and so silly … and I love it when I see that in my children now, because I worry, oh my goodness, I don’t want these kids to be exactly like me. But it’s amazing how his qualities are in them.… I get little reminders of Sam every day,” She told Us Weekly.
Though she faces an uphill battle and will never forget the bond she shred with Sam, Kristen knows she has the resiliency and strength of a mother. Her situation is unique, but can serve as inspiration to any parents who need encouragement and motivation to persevere through any hardships they may be facing.
You can learn more about Kristen Tripson, her husband Sam, and her amazing tale in this amazing Vimeo video post.
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