The moments in life that are equally bursting with joy and grief are few and far between, but that’s exactly what happened to Courtney Hill.
Courtney and her husband Brian met in the middle of a snowstorm in 2011 at Timothy O’Toole’s in Gurney, Illinois. The chance encounter soon blossomed into an unforgettable romance that led to their five-year marriage and the birth of a beautiful child.
However, their “til death do us part” came much too soon for Courtney when she learned that her husband died in a tragic Oklahoma trucking accident on February 2, 2016. The retired Navy Veteran had served in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.
The couple had been trying to grow their family for some time. On the morning of the accident, Brian and Courtney took a pregnancy test together, but the result was negative.
Days later, on the morning of her husband’s wake, Courtney took another pregnancy test. This time, it was positive. Mourning the loss of her husband, she yet felt an unusual and unexpected excitement about what was still to come—his legacy that he had left with her.
Facebook
At the funeral, just before Brian was laid to rest, Courtney grabbed his lifeless hand and whispered the news in his ear. They were going to have a baby—or so she thought.
On March 2, exactly one month after Brian’s death, Courtney’s mother took her to the hospital after she feared she might be having a miscarriage.
The news was just the opposite. At the hospital, Courtney learned she was having TRIPLETS!
Facebook
“My jaw DROPPED,” shared the stunned mother. “I’m excited to have three more smiles that remind me of him.”
But her joy quickly turned tragic again when her father-in-law passed away. Courtney and Brian had been living in Texas to aid with his sick father. After his passing, Courtney moved back to Illinois to be close to her family.
Facebook
As the due date for her three little blessings drew closer, Courtney and her sister spent time decorating the triplets’ nursery. It was Navy themed in honor of their incredible dad.
2016 wasn’t done with Courtney yet. At her 25-week appointment, doctors told her that she had lost one of the triplets. Her son Brady, no longer had a heartbeat. Courtney said the news was completely unexpected; up until then, Brady had been totally healthy.