Pregnant Olympian Dies 3 Weeks Before Her Due Date -- But the Baby Is Okay (VIDEO)

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by Mary Fischer 4 hours ago

In what is an incredibly sad and unthinkable story, a pregnant former Olympian, Meskerem Legesse, died in Connecticut earlier this week after suddenly collapsing in a Chinese food restaurant while waiting to pick up take-out. Making the situation even more devastating is that her 2-year-old son was with her when it happened -- and she was only three weeks away from giving birth to her second child.

Her cause of death is said to be a heart attack, and she reportedly suffered from heart problems in the past. Surveillance cameras from the restaurant show her walking in, sitting down in a chair, and then collapsing right after that. She was just 26 years old.

You can hear more about what happened in this video -- though I'll warn you that it's a bit tough to watch.

WFSB 3 Connecticut

As you heard in the clip, there is one small ray of hope in this horrible tragedy. Doctors managed to save Meskerem's baby after she was transported to the hospital.

Physicians are crediting the fact that first responders performed CPR on her at the restaurant and in the ambulance on the way to the hospital with saving her newborn daughter's life. 

And as heartbreaking as it is to think about this poor baby growing up never knowing her mother, it's truly a miracle that the child will at least have the chance at a full life thanks to the amazing firefighters and paramedics who did everything they could to try and save Meskerem.

But it's still so hard to accept that this woman lost her life just three weeks before holding her baby in her arms -- which I'm sure was in the forefront of her mind right before she passed. The last few weeks of pregnancy are so exciting and wonderful, and it's just so awful to think that this mom was cheated out of having that incredible moment of seeing her second child born.

All we can do is hope that the father and family of the baby and her other 2-year-old son will keep her memory alive and remind them how much she loved them. And we can pray that they are able to find some peace in welcoming a new life into the world as they work through this difficult time.

What words of comfort would you extend to this woman's family?

Image via music2fish2/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mary Fischer

is the writer behind The Mommyologist, and the mom of a future famous comedian. Her current loves include cosmopolitans, reality TV, and shoes that don't pinch her feet.

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