A spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed didn’t stop him from fathering a child with his fiancee. See the viral announcement and meet their new baby.
This story was originally published in February 2017, after Amanda Diesen and Todd Kreig created a funny pregnancy announcement explaining that, although Kreig was paraplegic, they were expecting their first child together.
On August 5, 2017 — six months after their announcement, declaring “it still works” went viral — the couple welcomed Everett Jason Kreig, nicknamed Rhett, into the world.
Parents that although sleepless nights with a 5-month-old are exhausting, parenting has been a rewarding experience for her and her fiancé.
“The tough part for Todd is that he can’t help out as much as he’d like to,” said Diesen. “If Rhett gets fussy he likes to be walked and bounced and rocked, but Todd is unable to do that.”
“We’re thankful, though, to have learned early on Todd can do a lot more than we originally thought,” Diesen continued. “He had been told by someone else in his situation that he wouldn’t even be able to hold his son, but Todd holds Rhett every day. Todd will occasionally feed Rhett, and I even made him change a dirty diaper the other day.”
In February 2017, the Ohio couple made the internet smile with their creative announcement of their most recent challenge — their journey into parenthood.
Krieg, a former dirt bike racer, became paralyzed after a biking accident in 2014. After traveling to California for a rehabilitation program, Krieg met Diesen, who worked as a recovery specialist with patients at the facility. The pair fell in love, and after Krieg returned to Ohio in 2016, Diesen followed.
Shortly after, the couple learned that Diesen was pregnant with their first child — an unexpected event given Krieg’s paralysis.
“We definitely weren’t trying to have a baby — we wanted to get engaged, get married, and then start trying in a few years,” Diesen told TODAY Parents. “We found out at the beginning of December and were extremely shocked and overwhelmed. We took a test together and just about freaked out.”
“It was au natural, no IVF,” Diesen explained. “Doctors had said it was possible, but the chances were very slim — that it probably wouldn’t happen without help like IVF or other devices.”
Source: today.com
