In mourning. Ryan Kelly announced on Monday, December 20, that he lost his baby girl 19 weeks into his wife Emma Kelly’s pregnancy.
“Nothing made me happier than being your Dad,” the professional football player, 28, captioned an Instagram photo of his late infant’s handprint. “You gave your Mom and I that gift. You were simply a miracle and always will be. I’m sorry you never got to open those sweet eyes and see us or take your first steps but you have angel wings now. You left this world too soon but we know God had a bigger purpose for you. Your mom and I find comfort knowing you’re being loved on by your great grandparents. Thank you for watching over us and your future siblings. I’ll forever wonder who you’d be today. Until we meet again my sweet girl, I love you.”
Emma shared a post of her own, calling it “necessary” for the couple’s “healing” journey.
“We lost our sweet baby, Mary Katherine Kelly, aka Mary Kate, this week,” she captioned black-and-white Instagram photos. “I was 19 weeks along, one week from the halfway mark. Women have a one percent chance of losing their baby this far along, and yet somehow, here we are. One of our Angel nurses, Kalyn, told us this would be the hardest thing we’ll ever do in our life, and I pray to God she’s right. Because this feels worse than hard, it feels so evil and cruel. The pain and brokenness is so unbearable for Ryan and I. We don’t even know where to begin.”
Emma noted that her daughter’s “heart just stopped for reasons unknown,” writing, “After learning she wasn’t with us anymore, I was told there was no other choice but to deliver our baby next. Ryan and I spent almost 48 hours in the hospital. I labored for 24 hours with her before she made her entrance on December 17th. I was so angry at first that I had to deliver her, only for it to become the biggest blessing out of this nightmare. It gave Ryan and I the opportunity to hold our little Saint, Mary Kate, before officially saying goodbye to her. These 19 weeks with her opened our hearts and souls more than we ever imagined possible and I’m forever grateful we had some time, earth-side, with the little girl who made us mom and dad. She was tiny, perfect and incredibly loved from everyone who knew she existed. I don’t think we’ll ever understand why God decided to call her home when he did but our faith is unshaken. He knows better than we and she was needed back home, in Heaven.”
The couple, who wed in May, announced in October that they were expanding their family. “Big news this Halloween!” the Indianapolis Colts center captioned a photo of them dressed as Ferris Bueller and Sloane Peterson holding an ultrasound. “Little Kelly coming in 2022!”
Emma captioned her own Halloween-themed announcement: “BOOm. I’m pregnant!”
