Just eight months after her boyfriend’s death, this woman made a shocking discovery which changed her life forever.
Stephanie Thompson had been trying to deal with the sudden death of her partner, Dan Muirhead, for the last eight months, when she received the surprise of her life.
The 24-year-old from Plymouth and her 29-year-old partner had been trying for a baby for two-and-a-half years to no avail, but mysteriously, months after Dan’s death, that was all about to change.
Heartbroken Stephanie thought she had been putting on weight after her partner tragically died, but miraculously it turned out she was in fact pregnant.
The couple had been together for six years, before she found him dead in bed on May 23rd 2016.
At first Stephanie thought he was just being lazy and refusing to get up for work, but after repeated attempts to wake him, she realised something was seriously wrong.
In a state of panic, she called for an ambulance and paramedics instructed her to carry out CPR on Dan before they arrived, but sadly there was nothing they could do.
It was later discovered Dan had suffered from two diagnosed heart conditions, which lead to his untimely death.
For the next eight months, Steph felt constantly bloated and uncomfortable and a month before her baby was born she let Dan’s stepmother feel her stomach.
Concerned she might have gallstones or could be pregnant, she booked a doctor’s appointment in January, where the GP confirmed she was indeed going to have a baby.
A month later, on February 11th, Steph gave birth to a baby boy, who she named Jesse and explained to the Plymouth Herald how she was in a state of shock.
She said:
I was so focused on everything that happened last year, I had felt bloated but just thought I had put on weight.
I wasn’t sure how to react – straight away I knew I still had a part of Dan which was amazing, but at the same time heartbreaking for him not to be here.
We had been trying for a baby for two-and-a-half years, and we had always talked about being parents, Dan always said how much he was excited to be a dad.
Jesse was one of the names we discussed for a baby. I must have been caught pregnant a few weeks before Dan died.
As she hardly had any time to prepare, one of Dan’s best friend’s Mark – who he worked with at JEM Scaffolding – rallied round to help collect everything she needed for her little boy’s first year.
The operations manager at JEM Scaffolding,Richard Barnes said:
As a whole we decided we needed to do something. The lads brought in bits and pieces and after putting in a message to my son’s rugby club, the ladies in that really stepped up.
They gave Steph everything she needed for the first six to 12 months – push chairs, cots, toys, clothes, the lot.
Dan’s death has still left everyone in shock, it has affected everyone here at work too.
We will do what we can to help Steph in the future.
Nearly five months on, Steph and Jesse are doing well, although it is extremely sad to think she will have to bring her baby up never knowing his dad.
She told the paper:
I’m over the moon to have Jesse, and part of Dan lives on. But it is still very painful. I have said I will tell Jesse who his dad was and what happened.
We are so thankful to JEMs for everything they have done.
The whole thing must have come as a huge shock to grieving Stephanie, but then they do say miracles can happen and perhaps baby Jesse is one.
Good luck to the new family and hopefully one day he will grow up to hear stories all about his late dad.
