Dad’s horror as his newborn daughter dies in his arms… hours after his wife suffered a fatal seizure
Craig Renton was so excited to start a family with 'love of his life' Heidi, 31, but tragedy struck eight days before her due date
A DAD was left devastated after losing his wife and newborn baby within 15 hours of each other.
Craig Renton, from Newark, was so excited to start a family with the “love of his life” Heidi, 31, and the mum-to-be had enjoyed a surprise baby shower just five days before her death.
But on August 4 this year, eight days before her due date, Heidi suffered pains in her chest and Craig, an RAF engineer, rushed her to hospital.
On the way she suffered a seizure and passed out, and was taken by ambulance to Kings Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, where doctors desperately tried to revive her.
When they emerged from the resuscitation suite 10 minutes later, with tears streaming down their faces, Craig knew it wasn’t good news.
He told : “One sat with me and said something I'll never forget: ‘I'm sorry your wife has died.’
“But then he added, 'Would you like to meet your baby girl?’.”
Seconds before Heidi had died, their daughter had been delivered by emergency caesarean.
Craig recalled the heartbreaking moment he sat by her bedside and told her she was a mum and that he loved her and was proud of her.
Then came one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do – call his wife’s parents and tell them their daughter had died, and that they had a grandchild.
But Craig suffered a double tragedy when, just 15 hours after she was born, he lost his newborn baby.
Scans revealed she had been starved of oxygen when Heidi fell ill and that she wouldn’t survive beyond a few hours.
Craig said: “For three hours, she was on a ventilator and then I made the decision to turn it off.
“She died peacefully in my arms at 15 hours old. Although I only knew her for 15 hours I grew to love her so much.
“She and Heidi were, and always will be, the loves of my life.”
Craig called their daughter Isabella, knowing it was his wife’s favourite name for a little girl.
Heidi’s death remains unexplained, but he believes it was natural causes.
In a gut-wrenching social media post, Craig wrote: “The most important thing for me is that for the last nine years there hasn't been a day where I didn't tell Heidi how much I loved her and how beautiful she was, so I can be sure she knew just how much I loved her and how much I always will.
“Heidi gave me nine years of excitement and happiness, she was a gorgeous, funny, caring, fiesty woman who knew exactly how to live life. Enjoying times together with family and friends.
“We never stopped to think if we should do something, we just did it.
“I have enough memories to last me a lifetime. I am going to take Heidi's zest for life forward with me and make sure that I do her proud.
“I may be slightly biased, but she gave me the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen in my life, Isabella. Although her time was short, I loved her so much and will never forget her.”
In memory of Heidi, who was a therapy radiographer at Nottingham University Hospital, and Isabella, Craig is now raising money for Nottingham Hospitals Charity – a cause close to his wife’s heart.
He has already received £11,000, which will go towards a new MRI scanner for the hospital, but hopes sharing his heartbreaking story will boost donations.
To donate, visit the .
Last month we told how newborn twins and their sister, two, were orphaned after their mum died following a c-section on the day of their dad’s funeral.
