FOX31 Denver

Pregnant woman learns one twin is dead, must deliver both

DENVER (KDVR) — A heartbreaking story of a Steamboat Springs area woman pregnant with twins, learns one is deceased, but she must carry both to term to save the healthy child.

The birth is expected to take place in July.

Ellie Dewan tells FOX31 she loves being a mother and that her 4-year-old son Jacob is the light of her life. She says her son inspired her to have more children.

“I wanted to have at least one or two more,” she said.

Plans to expand her family took a heartbreaking turn when Dewan learned one of the twins she is now carrying is no longer alive.

“Loving someone and carrying it and just like that, no heartbeat nothing, it’s heartbreaking,” she said.

She tells FOX31, Jacob had looked forward to having two new siblings and even helped paint a nursery.

“When we had to tell him it was, it’s like my heart just, on the floor,” she said.

Dewan must be closely monitored by doctors in Denver so she is temporarily staying at the Ronald McDonald House, which helps families in need.

The children’s father is a snowplow driver in Steamboat Springs. He travels 156 miles to Denver to see his family every weekend.

David Brown tells FOX31 “the family support we have between her and I is phenomenal.”

While he anticipates the birth of one child, he has a heartfelt message for the one he and his wife have lost.

“For sure I would want him to know that I love him, that he’ll never be forgotten and I want him to know that he’ll be with us whether he’s here or not,” he said.

The family will soon need to cover living and commuting expenses in addition to mounting medical bills. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help them.