After the death of her husband months ago due to the coronavirus, a Florida woman celebrated the birth of her baby girl after years of trying to conceive.
On April 24, Jennifer Anken welcomed her first child, Davya Rose, after years of struggling to conceive. It was a dream come true for Jennifer, but she still mourns after her husband, Dave Anken, who was diagnosed and died of brain cancer five months ago.
The 39-year-old new mom told People that she could not help but question why God would do something like that to somebody, but at the same time, she is in awe of the miracle of what she is cradling in her hands. She believes that the pages of her husband's story have already been written ages ago, so all she has to do is to combine them with hers so that they could have the little person that she is holding right now.
Jennifer Anken suffered a miscarriage
For 15 years, the Paisley resident struggled to conceive, so the "little person's" coming was what she has been waiting for for the longest time because previously, she suffered a miscarriage while being married to her first husband.
Jennifer got divorced from her husband, and she dated Dave in 2017. She and Dave wanted to have children, so they tried for a couple of years, but they could not succeed. She said that they did some testing and found that she was fine; however, her husband did not produce anything that would help them bear a child.
Still, the couple continued to try until they got engaged in 2019, and after their vacation in August, on September 11, the doctor confirmed that Jennifer is pregnant, which happily surprised Dave.
The miraculous news came right before Dave's birthday. Jennifer said that it was quite amazing, and seeing the sonogram made them feel surreal and excited. Dave was still in disbelief, and he said that he would not believe it until he sees her.
Dave had brain cancer
Weeks after they celebrated their pregnancy, the couple's joy took a 360 degrees turn, which even Dave's coworkers notice. Jennifer shared that Dave was late to work, which was not his normal. She also said that he dozed off and was very irritable.
Dave was also a mess because he would get lost. Jennifer said that they were fighting all the time, which looked like she was dealing with a 15-year-old.
The couple decided to go to a local hospital on October 25. Dave went into an MRI, where the doctors found something in front of his brain. Dave was then transferred to AdventHealth Orlando, and there the doctors confirmed that he had terminal brain cancer.
For a couple of days, Jennifer still could not believe the news, although Dave was immediately admitted and had the surgery the day after. For Jennifer to make legal decisions for Dave, the staff at a nearby rehab center helped them to get married on November 5 in a conference room.
Five days after they got officially married, Dave died. Jennifer was forced to stay strong for their unborn child more so because the coronavirus started a month before her daughter came out.
When Davya, named after her dad, was born, Dave's ashes were on a nearby table, and the whole time, Jennifer felt Dave's presence, which made Jennifer calm. The Florida Forest Service Firefighters, Dave's former colleagues, said that they would help Davya make known who her father is so Jennifer does not have to worry about it.
