Husband devastated after wife and unborn son die suddenly

A heartbroken father who planned the trip of a life time for himself and his pregnant wife is now making funeral arrangements after an unexpected illness killed his partner and their unborn son.

John Shaw arrived in the United States with his wife, Natasha, after she was given the all-clear from her doctor to travel. It was their first time in America.

After just days into their dream three-week holiday, Mr Shaw lost his wife and his unborn child to a disorder they didn't even know she had.

"Every organ was fine in her body. She never had a problem with any other pregnancy. We never thought this would happen," Mr Shaw told News3lv.

"Everyone in her whole family thought she was alright. I thought she was alright. She thought she was alright. She wasn't."

The couple from Murray Bridge, South Australia, have three other children together and were planning a short getaway before the birth of their fourth.

Mrs Shaw started to complain of a migraine and stomach aches and spent several days resting.

"We thought it was just migraines," Mr Shaw said. "It was the same feeling she thought she had when she had a migraine back home, you know?"

But early on Saturday morning, Mr Shaw had to call an ambulance for his wife who was suffering stroke-like symptoms and soon became unresponsive.

"On the ambulance bed, when she was taken out of the room, I told her 'I love you'.

"She said I love you back to me twice, and they were the last words that came out of her mouth," he said.

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Mrs Shaw was diagnosed with a pregnancy condition known as HELLP, involving hemolysis (the breaking down of red blood cells), elevated liver enzymes and a low platelet count.

Doctors sedated her and delivered her 26-week-old son in an attempt to save her life.

"The baby was already deceased when it came out. I got to hold him for a few hours and get some memories with him.

"Then he was brought to the morgue. She never ever knew what was going on," Mr Shaw said.

Mrs Shaw's heart and kidneys failed and they put her on life support that night.

"I went there the next morning to find out she had swelling in the brain and bleeding in the brain," Mr Shaw said.

"The doctor said to me what was wrong with her and I asked him if she is basically gone, dead. And she said 'yeah'. That was the hardest thing."

Mr Shaw made a heartbreaking video call to their three children so they could say goodbye to their mum.

Natasha Shaw passed away around 8:30pm on Sunday.

HELLP syndrome is a form of preeclampsia that can start off with a severe headache and often nausea.

Mr Shaw is urging expecting mothers to be alert for any of the symptoms.

"If you're pregnant and you feel those symptoms, go to the doctor because it happens all too quick," he said.

"I'm bringing them back home in a box, which I never thought would happen."

The devastated father now has to prepare for the funerals and is struggling to pay for the bodies of his wife and son to be sent home to Australia.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to ease the costs of the expenses. You can donate to the cause here.

News break – May 18