A young EMT from Tennessee faced a double heartbreak after losing her new boyfriend and their baby just three months apart in two separate tragedies.
Abigail Young ‘Abby’, an EMT from Tennessee, was swept up in a whirlwind romance just 10 months ago with Chad, a student at UT Chatanooga.
Abby, 24, and Chad, 23, met on Tinder and chatted online before exchanging numbers, connecting on social media and eventually making plans to meet in person. Chad invited Abby to visit him on campus in March – and she decided he was worth the hour-and-a-half journey.
‘I was so nervous the whole way because I hadn’t met him in person before, but I was really excited because of our conversations leading up until then. I knew he was going to be an amazing person,’ Abby told People.
The pair hit it off and by July they were exchanging ‘I love yous’ and considering themselves an official couple.
A young EMT from Tennessee faced a double heartbreak after losing her new boyfriend and their baby just three months apart in two separate tragedies
Abigail Young ‘Abby'(pictured right), an EMT from Tennessee, was swept up in a whirlwind romance just 10 months ago with Chad (pictured left), a student at UT Chatanooga
Abby, 24, and Chad, 23, met on Tinder and chatted online before exchanging numbers, connecting on social media and eventually making plans to meet in person.
The young lovers discussed their future together and figuring out a five-year-plan, and they decided to start trying to have a baby
Coming from a complicated background – Chad opened up to Abby about longing to be a father.
The young lovers discussed their future together and figured out a five-year-plan. They decided to start trying to have a baby.
‘He said, “I spent the last 20-few years of my life alone. I’ve done nothing but work and I think that it’s time for me to get my life started and I want to share that with you,”‘ Abby recalled.
However – tragedy struck on July 27 when Abby received a devastating phone call from Chad’s mom.
Her boyfriend had discussed feeling unwell earlier that day – but assumed it was because of his hard work that day.
‘I got a message from Chad’s mom that said, “Please call me,”‘ Abby shared.
When Abby called back, Chad’s father answered and delivered the unthinkable news.
‘At first he said [Chad’s mom] was having trouble breathing, so I thought they were calling me for medical advice, which family members sometimes do since I’m an EMT,’ she says. ‘And before I can say anything, he tells me, “Chad is dead.”‘
However – tragedy struck on July 27 when Abby received a devastating phone call from Chad’s mom and discovered that Chad was dead
Abby was devastated by the news – she had lost the love of her life whom she was beginning to plan a life together with.
But there was something else, the new couple had been secretly taking pregnancy tests that had so-far been inconclusive.
After Abby, alongside Chad’s family, laid him to rest on August 2 – Abby’s mom encouraged her to take a pregnancy test.
Unlike previous tests – this one was definitively positive.
‘I just fell to the floor crying because that was all he talked about, was how excited he was to be a dad. And all I could think about was how I was about to have his child that he wanted so bad, and he wasn’t going to be here to see it.
‘I was also happy to have a piece of him to carry with me forever, but devastated he wasn’t there to share it with me,’ Abby said.
Just as Abby got excited about motherhood by buying baby supplies and preparing for a pregnancy announcement – another tragedy struck.
Abby’s boss noticed she looked unwell at work and sent the 24-year-old EMT to the hospital immediately after testing her heart rate and blood pressure.
‘I had tachycardia. My heart was beating 174 beats per minute, which is really dangerous. And so my lieutenant calls my shift commander and he says that I don’t have a choice, I need to go to the hospital immediately,’ Abby shared.
During the exam at the hospital – the nurse could not find the heartbeat of the baby, who Abby had already named Chad Jr. ‘CJ’ after his deceased dad.
An ultrasound confirmed that CJ no longer had a heartbeat – and Abby went into induced labor so that she could take the stillborn child home to bury with Chad.
She gave birth to the baby on October 25. ‘They made everybody in the room leave so it was just me and my little boy alone.
‘I held him as long as I could and I looked over him and could see so much of Chad in this beautiful baby boy that we wanted so bad.’
After Abby, alongside Chad’s family, laid him to rest on August 2
Abby’s mom encouraged her to take a pregnancy test. Unlike previous tests – this one was positive
Just as Abby got excited about motherhood by buying baby supplies and preparing for a pregnancy announcement – another tragedy struck. The baby was tragically stillborn
Since the heartbreaking series of events – Abby has taken to TikTok to share her story and her grief.
A GoFundMe account was set up for her to help with the costs of medical bills and living expenses.
‘I’m doing everything I can to keep Chad’s legacy alive and to keep CJ’s legacy alive. And I hope that this reaches people who need it, so they can have somebody they relate to.
‘I want to bring awareness that these types of tragedies don’t always happen to people later in life and that it can happen to anybody,’ Abby shared.