MASSILLON, Ohio -- The Ohio woman whose viral maternity photo shoot featured a swarm of honeybees has announced some devastating news.
Emily Mueller's fourth child, a boy, was stillborn. She and her husband, Ryan, named him Emersyn Jacob.
She posted about the loss on Facebook this week:
Their family's photos went viral back in August. Local honeybee rescuer Emily hired photographer Kendrah Damis to do the maternity shoot. Since bees are such a big part of Emily's family's life, she came up with the idea to include the swarm in the photos.
To get all the bees to join in the shoot, Emily simply put the queen bee in her hand and they followed her.
Emily said in her Facebook post that last week she was preparing for an upcoming event, and she was so busy, she didn't pay attention to her baby's movement.
"Who truly does when you've been this far along 3 times before and everything has been completely normal," she said. "By evening I began to realize I had not felt baby move much and had contractions that felt different than any I have had before."
She began to feel more and more uneasy about it, and the next morning went to her midwife's office, where they checked for a heartbeat.
"They asked for them to retrieve the Dr. on call," she writes. "I remember his presence, his walk, the way he grabbed the gel from the nurse's hand, the ultrasound. Every detail of that moment is forever sketched into my mind and I cannot stop replaying it. Dr. Sutter sat on my right side looking at the screen and turned to me and said, "Your baby has passed."
Thanks to an organization called Sufficient Grace Ministries, the Muellers were able to get footprints on keepsake items, along with photos and other memories.
"It felt like we had Emersyn for a day; for one day we got to give him all of us and do important things that mattered," said Emily.
She believes Emersyn passed away due to a blood clotting issue in their family. Further tests could clarify that.
Emily thanked all those around the country who have prayed for her family and said she wants to share her story to help other families who have been through the same situation.
