Heather Brown, a pregnant Texas woman who fell into a coma and delivered her son by emergency C-section, has died 14 years after the medical tragedy.
Brown, from Gladewater, Texas, died on September 18, her family announced on Facebook—just days after her son John celebrated his birthday.
She never regained consciousness after entering the coma in 2012, when she was 34 weeks pregnant.
At the time, Brown was experiencing seizures caused by an aneurysm. Her husband, Sean, was serving in Afghanistan, CBS 19 reports.
After Heather slipped into a coma, Sean hurried home to be with his wife and their baby, John. The boy was born on September 15, 2012, weighing just 4 pounds, 6 ounces.
Sean stayed at Heather’s side throughout the years and shared updates on her condition and recovery through the Bringing Home the Browns Facebook page.
He later described bringing Heather home in July 2013. In September 2014, she spoke for the first time in almost a year, offering the family a moment of hope.
However, in a post published Wednesday, Sean announced that his wife had died, leaving him to mourn as a father of one.
‘Thank you all that supported and prayed for us during this journey,’ he wrote.
Heather Brown, of Gladewater, Texas, died on September 18
She entered a coma at 34 weeks pregnant in 2012 and delivered her son by emergency C-section
Sean and Heather met on a blind date and quickly became inseparable, he told PEOPLE in 2015.
‘We would stay up until the wee hours talking, and about a month later, we moved in with each other,’ he recalled. ‘We got married the following year, I guess she was willing to put up with me for the rest of her life.’
The couple soon began planning to have children.
‘I could tell she was going to be a great mom,’ Sean said. ‘She was a natural with kids.’
Doctors had initially told Heather she was infertile. So when the couple learned she was pregnant in 2012, Sean said, ‘it didn’t sink in at first.’
‘We were in awe and shock,’ he said.
Sean also recalled that Heather was always active and found it difficult to slow down, even after doctors told her she had high blood pressure.
By 2015, however, Heather could move only her fingers, blink once for yes-or-no answers and whisper a small number of words.
Heather died just days after her son John’s 14th birthday
Sean and Heather had met on a blind date, and the two quickly became inseparable
‘She once said my name and John’s name,’ Sean recounted. ‘I never realized that I had an Achilles’ heel until she wasn’t here.
‘I hurt for her that she has missed out on everything,’ he said at the time, noting that all Heather ever wanted was to have a family and be a mother.
Charity Robinson, the friend who set them up on their blind date, also called Heather ‘the most nurturing woman you could ever meet.
‘So the fact that she can’t wipe away John’s tears or give him a kiss is so heartbreaking,’ she said.
A memorial service is scheduled for October 10.