After losing the love of his life only hours before the birth of their first child, a grieving husband revealed how, in the course of 15 hours, he went from expecting the birth of his daughter with a woman he loves to being a widower with a child.

Just five days before her terrible death, blonde Heidi Renton, 31, appears to be the image of health and happiness in a photo taken at her unplanned baby shower on July 29 in Newark.

A pink sash with the words “Mummy-to-be” is worn by the therapeutic radiographer from Nottingham University Hospital as she holds her nine-month-pregnant belly. Her smile is huge!

“She had a fantastic day,” as engineer Craig at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire recalled.

Susan, her mother, and Chrissy, a cousin, planned the shower.

Even though she expected them, she was nevertheless taken aback by this surprise.

“They had drawn patterns on miniature baby clothes,” Craig remarked with a smile. ” Tea, sweets, and constant baby talking were there. The day was incredibly beautiful.”

But on Friday, August 4, just a few days later, when Craig arrived home from work at midday, Heidi was feeling under the weather.

“We contacted the doctor, who urged us to take her to the hospital because she was pregnant.

“We made the assumption that it may be the unborn child. Given that the deadline was August 12, it was possible. Both of us were excited and nervous. Our first and most eagerly awaited child was born.”

Craig and Heidi hopped into his Vauxhall Insignia and traveled about 20 miles from their Newark home to the Kings Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

Heidi’s scans and midwifery appointments were held at their favorite little country hospital in Newark, but there was no birth room there.

Then, after a brief interval, Heidi fell asleep.

Craig recalled, “I was horrified. I immediately pulled over to the side of the road. She temporarily woke up, which made me feel a lot better.”

He was parked on the side of the road when suddenly Heidi began to have a seizure, and he immediately called an ambulance, feeling helpless and distraught.

She started to sweat, and her lips turned blue, like she was running out of oxygen, the man observed. ” While I waited for an ambulance, a woman who just so happened to be a nurse pulled over.”

She started monitoring her breathing and her pulse.

Craig held his wife’s hand as she lay on the ground before they were brought right away to the hospital’s resuscitation department during their emergency ambulance ride to King’s Mill.

In a family room, Craig was awaiting with impatience.

“How was it possible that she was in a hospital bed when I had just said goodbye to her just hours earlier?”

He watched as after ten minutes the medical professionals finally exited the room where Heidi was being treated.

“They had tears streaming down their faces,” he added, adding that one joined him in his seat and uttered something that would stay in my memory forever.

“I’m sad about your wife’s passing,”

But he added later…

“Would you like to meet your newborn girl?”

Craig was too shocked by the news to be prepared to welcome his daughter who had been delivered through emergency Caesarean while another medical team attempted to revive his wife.

Instead, he stated, “I went straight to see Heidi,” describing how beautiful Heidi looked while she was lying in the hospital bed. ” I just started crying when I told her I loved her and was proud of her for being a mother.”

“I had to tell her parents that their daughter had died and that they now had a granddaughter.”

Of course they were confused. We all were.

As his family made their way from their various houses in Cambridge and Birmingham, Craig went to his wife.

“While I was with Heidi, doctors had scanned my wife, and the results were clear,” he added. “She was showing no mental activity.”

Although it hasn’t been verified, it’s believed that Heidi’s seizure was brought on by a lack of oxygen.

They predicted that she would die.

“If she’s going to die, what’s the point of seeing her, touching her, and loving her?” I thought.

As soon as the lovely 8lb 2oz baby captured his heart, he had to make a decision that would change his life.

“Isabella was number one name choice,” he proclaimed. We gave her that name since it fit her. Sadly, she didn’t make it.

Craig, who does not have any negative things to say about the hospital, must now adjust to living without his wife and daughter after they were both cremated on August 29. The cause of Heidi’s demise is unknown to Craig.

“I suppose natural causes were involved,” he said. “There is still an investigation going on. I don’t want to scare off future expectant mothers because this was a very unique situation and it’s likely Isabella would have survived if it weren’t for Heidi’s seizure.”

Throughout the scans and visits, she was unharmed. We could see her heartbeat, therefore she was in good health. Heidi was really happy.

“It is terribly terrible to have everything you cherished and had dreamed of suddenly snatched away.”

Isabella was born, Heidi died, and we also lost her all within the span of about 15 hours.

“I was a father for barely 15 hours.”

Nine years ago, while both were students at Sheffield Hallam University, Craig and Heidi initially met. When Craig saw Heidi laughing with friends in a party, he fell in love with her right away.

She would, however, be going back to her Birmingham-based parents the following day since she was a fourth-year student.

He recalled that “we had a brief long-distance relationship while I was enrolled in a five-year program. On trains, we frequently swapped seats, but I always thought it was worthwhile.”

After he obtained their degrees, the couple moved in together in Birmingham.

“We acquired Heidi’s grandmother’s old house and spent two years renovating it,” he remarked with a smile. “We enjoyed it despite how difficult and demanding it was.”

At this time, Craig was employed as an RAF engineer at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, while Heidi was employed in Birmingham as a therapeutic radiographer. Together, they usually went out on the town and went skiing.

Then, in 2012, following his marriage proposal, he transformed Heidi’s unexpected birthday party into an engagement party.

“I remember Heidi trying to convince me that an engagement ring should cost four times a person’s monthly pay before she proposed,” he said with a chuckle. “She didn’t have a fancy ring, but I think she was happy.”

Craig, who married in Leeds in 2014 and spent a honeymoon there, would have loved to have a family immediately soon.

“But Heidi was excited to travel, so we accommodated her wishes,” he said with a smile.

“I’m glad we did; it was wonderful.”

“Heidi loved the ballet at the Sydney Opera House, so we flew there after visiting the gorgeous Fraser Island.”

The day before Craig’s brother’s wedding in December 2016, Heidi had a “strange” feeling.

She simply stated that she was uncomfortable, according to Craig. We took pregnancy tests, and she was pregnant.

We had intended to keep it a secret, but since she usually suggested rounds of Jägermeister at weddings, everyone took note when she didn’t drink.

The happy couple started decorating the nursery and other baby-related preparations.

Craig claimed that Heidi was the author. “She was quite creative.”

“It hurts to go in there now that I know she’s gone and that Isabella is also gone.”

However, the mother and daughter will always be together.

Andy Haynes, MD, the medical director of the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is really distressing, and our condolences are with Mr. Renton at this terrible time.”

“Mom showing up in critical condition at A&E was unusual. I’m aware that our A&E staff and the entire hospital that came to care for her in A&E did everything they could to save both her and her unborn child’s lives, and they were deeply grieved by their demise.”

“We believe there was nothing else we could have done. As a result, we’ve maintained contact with Mr. Renton and will continue to support him and his family at this difficult time.”

Let me once more offer Mr. Renton our sincere condolences.