Just days after a photo of two newborn twins hugging captured the attention of hundreds of thousands, one of the infants has died.
Parents Brandy Guettler and Tommy Buchmeyer confirmed that their son, Hawk, experienced serious health problems after he was born at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida, on Aug. 18.
They posted a photo of the twins hugging and smiling, which garnered thousands. of shares and reactions, on Facebook.
Hawk was diagnosed with CDH, or a congenital diaphragmatic hernia—a rare condition, reported NBC Miami. The National Institutes of Health says it’s a defect in the diaphragm, which can “lead to underdevelopment of the lungs (pulmonary hypoplasia), potentially resulting in life-threatening breathing difficulties that are apparent from birth.”
The parents confirmed the death on Wednesday. “He went very peacefully and we know he’s no longer suffering. Please give us some time to grieve and try to start the healing process,” they wrote on Facebook.
A number of people expressed their condolences to the family on social media.
“The whole ordeal is as bad as you can get,” Tommy Buchmeyer said last week of his son’s struggles. “The doctors aren’t giving us false hope. We know it’s a long shot.”
