Lauren Elizabeth Bernhardt Gunderson. Mother of four beautiful children, a wonderful sister, daughter, wife and friend.
Her favorite things to eat were mexican food, chocolate ice cream, peanut butter kiss cookies, and yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Lauren married the love of her life, her prince charming. She loved to fish, shop, and spend time with family. Lauren could always make you laugh and bring a smile to your face when you were down.
When Lauren became pregnant with her fourth child, she told us she had accreta and would have to have a hysterectomy once the baby was delivered. We had no idea what accreta was or the impact that it was going to have on the days to come. Lauren told the family the worst case would be she could die, but she had a team of doctors that would take care of her and all would be okay. Lauren was put on bedrest in the hospital and told she would not go home till the baby was born. When Lauren was admitted into the hospital, she had no idea, nor did the family, of the life change that was going to happen within the next couple of weeks.
Almost two months early, Lauren was told that the baby was going to have to be delivered. After Lauren was taken back to delivery, the family anxiously waited to hear about the baby and how Lauren was doing. After a long wait, her husband Tim came out to let the family know that the baby boy was here and his name is Traesyn Alan, but Lauren was not doing so well. After some additional time, the doctor came out and stated that they had done everything they could but, due to the circumstances of the accreta, Lauren had passed away. The doctor was speechless and truly did not know what to say. This was his first death dealing with accreta. The family was devastated. We made calls till wee hours of the morning and waited to say our good-byes to our precious Lauren. Our hearts were broken. Our lives would never be the same. Lauren had chosen to give her life for her new baby. The four beautiful children that she has will now live with the memories that the family carries of her.
Since Lauren has passed we have learned a lot about accreta and try to get the word out. Our family has always been close but now we are even closer. We hug each other a little tighter and share all the memories we can of our precious Lauren. Remember: Yesterday is a memory. Today is a gift. Tomorrow is not promised. Please spread the awareness of accreta and help families understand the seriousness of accreta if you can.
Lauren is thought of every second of the day, and she is never forgotten. Her children are our special gift that she has left us, and we enjoy them each and every day!
God Bless you All, The Bernhardt-Gunderson Families
