After toddler dies at 22 weeks, Connecticut dad promises to run 22 marathons

On New year’s Eve 2015, Christopher Longo of Bethel, Conn. were given a telephone call that would for all time trade his existence.

“I’ve got some awful information,” his mom-in-law defined. “I don’t recognise how to mention this, but the baby is long gone.”

Longo’s spouse Lynne, 35, who changed into 22 weeks pregnant with the couple’s 0.33 child, was at the health center for a scheduled ultrasound when doctors discovered that the toddler had no heartbeat.

as soon as he arrived on the hospital, Longo, 38, right away comforted Lynne and then requested for an ultrasound to confirm that the infant had exceeded away. given that Lynne had had a everyday, healthy pregnancy up until that point, the toddler’s death got here as a huge shock to them.

“It changed into surreal to mention the least,” Longo, the meantime assistant foremost at Schaghticoke center school in New Milford, Conn., said. “My feeling behind it become utter disbelief.”

the next day Lynne added their baby, a daughter they named Angelina.  shortly thereafter, Longo decided that in spite of their tragic loss, he become going to discover a fine way to manage via his grief and maybe even encourage others along the way.

although he turned into a complete-scholarship athlete in college and ran in two consecutive NCAA department 1 pass u . s . a . championships, 12 years had gone by earlier than Longo hit the pavement once more remaining year to train for his first marathon in September.  

even though he completed the race, the ache that started out to set in round mile 22 regarded too difficult.

“I stated to myself, ‘I’ll by no means run a marathon again,’” he recalled

yet as he thought more about Angelina, he realized there has been no better way to honor her and find a source of energy than by way of strolling 22 marathons, one for each week of her existence in utero.

“The pain that I skilled within the marathon— that’s transient ache,” he said. “losing a toddler goes to be ache endured all the time but we need to discover approaches to manage and this is my way.”