Pregnant mother was photographed with a swarm of bees on her stomach - 6 days before birth their heart was broken to pieces
|
Bees are smart and social creatures, although many people are afraid to get stung by them.
But the beekeeper Emily Mueller has never hesitated - she loves the little creatures and she has been caring for them since her father brought a beehive when she was a child.
Together with her husband Ryan, she runs a family honey production business.
It wasn't long before she was nicknamed the 'bee whisperer'.
When Emily Mueller became pregnant she decided to get photographed along with her two treasures alive. She wanted to show her passion for bees as well as show her pregnant belly that grew day by day.
Unfortunately, Emily has experienced a number of abortions in the past, but this time her stomach was growing at a steady and healthy pace. She contacted photographer Kendra Demis to make her a pregnancy photo book.
Emily encouraged a swarm of bees to gather around her belly.
And the result was spectacular - beautiful and also full of emotion!
The unique photos spread all over the social medias, and Emily became an overnight celebrity.
She sat on the grass in a white dress, radiant with happiness.
Everything in the picture looks amazing and normal, except for the 20,000 bees that were on her pregnant belly.
Emily made sure the bees ate before the filming, so that they would be less fickle and thus less likely to sting her.
To attract the bees to her, Emily held the queen bee in a vessel that was inside her hand.
She consulted with her doctor before taking the pictures to make sure there was no risk of injury to the baby.
Terrible news
When the photography was over, Emily and Ryan began to prepare for the baby's arrival.
But in November of that year, Emily received terrible news that broke everyone's heart. Unfortunately Emily had another abortion coming.
"God decided he needed to have his own beekeeper and took our beloved son, Emersyn Jacob, back to heaven", Emily wrote in a Facebook post.
On the Thursday before the tragedy Emily was busy caring for her other three children.
She felt contractions, but much worse than those she had with the other children. She also felt that the child was moving much less than she was used to.
"Around 2:30AM at night I woke up and felt uncomfortable with the fact that I had not felt elbows and knees that I had felt before", Emily said.
Terrified, she woke up Ryan and asked him to listen to the baby's heartbeat.
"We agreed that if I did not start to feel strong kicks, then in the morning we would drive to the hospital".
Many pregnant women tend to feel this or that anxiety during pregnancy, this is not uncommon. But Emily could not get rid of the bad thoughts.
She drove to the hospital, hoping they would tell her and Ryan that it was a false alarm.
"I really thought we would come home with a smile, that we would be told we just had to wait for the arrival of our sweet Emersyn, who was due to be born in 6 days", Emily said.
Remember every detail
But when the nurse had difficulty finding a heartbeat, Emily broke down in tears.
Somehow she already knew what terrible news she was about to receive. The nurse could not find a heartbeat and called a doctor.
"I remember his presence, his walk, the way he took the gel and the nurse's hand, the ultrasound. Every detail of that moment is etched in my memory and I can't stop recreating it in my head", Emily said.
It is not yet known what caused the miscarriage.
When Emily gave birth to her little angel there was nothing that could be done for him. The little baby was beautiful when he entered the world.
Having a stillborn baby is a trauma that cannot be described in words. No one needs to go through that.
But there was little light in the great darkness.
Thanks to Emily’s unique photos with the bees, the family did not have to mourn alone. Thousands of people sent messages of support to the family, which helped ease Emily's pain a little.
She is now telling her story to help other families who have been through similar trauma.
None of us go through life without pain. But the pain of losing a child is inconceivable.
We were in tears as we read Emily's story. It was a very brave act to share her story with the world. Nothing will be able to bring back her little angel, but in the hope that her story will help others who are working hard towards it.
Please share the beautiful photos and story to pay homage to little Emersyn who is now in heaven