"She was a loving mother and devoted her life to raising her children," read her obituary.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 25, 2022. It has since been updated.
There is nothing more painful and tragic than running out of time to do what you desperately wanted to cross off your bucket list. Michelle Stani gave birth to her beloved son Jayden on December 24, but by then, Covid "hit her hard very fast," her aunt Tina revealed. Unfortunately, Michelle died just three weeks later even before getting the chance to hold her newborn baby. "Her partner had taken a picture of the baby and showed it to her, but that's all she got," Tina told the New York Post. "It tore her up. She literally texted me that she was heartbroken, that she wished she could hold her baby. That's all she wanted."
Michelle passed away on January 12 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, after suffering from complications related to pneumonia. Tina is unaware if the mom-of-four was vaccinated or not. "I don’t know, she was pregnant for almost two years," said Tina referring to the late mom's third child, an 11-month-old girl named Jordan. "I would love to say one way or the other, but I don’t know."
However, back in August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Covid-19 vaccines were both safe and effective for pregnant people.
A GoFundMe account was created to raise money for the Bridgewater resident's family, who died three weeks after giving birth. The fundraiser page describes the mom as "a beautiful soul." The money raised from the effort will help cover the cost of education and childcare of her four "beautiful children: Samantha, 19, Noah, 4, Jordan, 11 months, and Jayden, 3 weeks."
"I don’t think reality has set in for her yet," said Tina of Michelle's 19-year-old daughter, Samantha.
"They were very, very close. Samantha said yesterday that her mother was not just her mother, but so much more." Michelle, who was "an advocate for education" had recently graduated from Rutgers University with a master’s degree in education. "I believe she would want nothing more than her children to have a college education," said Tina of Michelle who grew up in Somerset.
"The fact that she was pregnant, had a rambunctious 4-year-old at home, and still got her master’s degree, I would think you would be in awe of her," said her aunt. "She did it all and worked full-time," she noted, adding that Michelle was a hard-working mother, who was "vivacious and strong-willed and determined and disciplined."
"She was a loving mother and devoted her life to raising her children," read her obituary, according to PEOPLE. "She enjoyed having deep conversations, but could also be lighthearted and loved to make people laugh. Michelle was a strong, independent woman with a soft heart and a beautiful soul. She was the kind of person that if you met once, you would never forget her."
References:
https://nypost.com/2022/01/20/new-jersey-mom-of-4-dies-of-covid-without-holding-newborn-son/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/michelle-stani?qid=c1cf878564962af6b1b3a4d670f658e1
https://people.com/human-interest/mom-of-4-died-of-covid-never-got-to-hold-newborn-baby/
Cover Image Source: GoFundMe | Michelle Stani Children's Fund
