DENVER — A Denver family is mourning the loss of a woman who died while delivering her fourth child last month.
Cristina Hernandez, 32, a Denver Police Department crime lab employee, passed away at the hospital on May 4, during childbirth, according to her family.
Denver7 spoke with her husband, Michael Gonzales, who is now left raising their four boys — Julian, Anthony, Adam and newborn, Damien.
Gonzales said his wife's pregnancy felt normal for the majority of her term, but he said she was diagnosed with preeclampsia a few weeks before her delivery and was experiencing high blood pressure.
"We weren't really worried about anything," said Gonzales. "We were expecting a normal birth."
He said his wife was 37 weeks pregnant when they checked into the hospital for her to get induced.
"Saturday morning, roughly around 11 a.m. is when they decided to break her water," he added. "Once they broke her water... is when everything happened."
Gonzales said Cristina began to have seizures and was taken away to get an emergency C-section.
"We were separated, and then we didn't hear back for about two hours," he added. "They came and got me because they were going to transport Damien to Rocky Mountain for additional care there."
Gonzales said the doctors told him his wife was losing a lot of blood and had to be connected to an ECMO machine. She died a few hours later, without getting to meet her newborn son.
"It's been very difficult. She was a great mother, so to lose her... it's provided a lot of difficulty," added Gonzales.
The father of four is now having to adjust to life without his partner of 12 years.
"I mean, it seems like every day there's something that you don't realize. I mean, she did so much for them," he said.
Right now, the family is facing several emotional and financial hardships. Cristina's family said they could use some help with baby items, like furniture to keep at both her husband's home and her mother's home where the baby spends a lot of time.
Gonzales is also in search of a daycare center that accepts newborns as he prepares to return to work next month.
"To lose part of our income together with her passing, it's going to be a little hard financially. So yeah, for future, for college, to think about that and set money aside, it'll be a little tighter," added Gonzales.
He said his wife's dream was to purchase a bigger house with a yard for her children — something Gonzales hopes to be able to accomplish.
"She was very caring, loving. She took great pride in being a mother above all things," he said.
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