Couple marries right before emergency surgery

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

This was not the wedding they planned.

This was not the birth experience they wanted.

But Zachary and Jennifer Kinch found immense comfort in exchanging their vows while their son – their first child together – still had life in him within Jennifer’s womb.

The hastily pulled together ceremony took place in a pre-op area in Riley Hospital for Children’s Maternity Tower on May 14, just before Jennifer was to undergo a C-section to deliver Sullivan Michael Kinch at just shy of 32 weeks’ gestation.

The Warsaw, Indiana, couple had learned a month earlier that Jennifer’s pregnancy was not viable due to a fatal neuromuscular disorder that would prevent the baby from surviving for long outside the womb.

It was a devastating blow, of course, but they had a plan. They wanted to keep their child with them as long as possible.

“We knew he wasn’t going to make it, but we wanted to have more time with him in my belly,” Jennifer said.

They were scheduled to come to Riley on June 10 for delivery, but Jennifer went into labor early at home. An ambulance took them to their local hospital, then LifeLine flew her to Riley, where she wanted to deliver.

“We had a birth plan; we had everything ready here (at Riley),” she said, even if it was weeks early.

They also had a marriage license and wedding rings, which Zach had the presence of mind to bring with him as he drove down to Indianapolis after Jennifer was airlifted.

That document and the compassion of a nurse who also happened to be an ordained wedding officiant were crucial in fulfilling the couple’s wish to marry before their son was born.

Lide Segovia-Tomcho, an OB resource nurse, stepped up to perform the brief ceremony shortly before she finished her overnight shift.

She had officiated for just two other weddings, both for friends, and told the couple she could not marry them without a marriage license.

“We have it,” Zach told her. “And we have the rings.”

The couple had previously planned to marry May 30, 11 days before Jennifer was scheduled to deliver.

When they told Segovia-Tomcho how important it was to them for their unborn baby to be part of the ceremony, she couldn’t say no.

“No worries,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

There was little time to get things ready, but someone on the unit found a LEGO flowerpot for Jennifer to use for a bouquet, and some of the nurses got the couple a cake and flowers later.

“It was the highlight of my day,” Segovia-Tomcho said. “Something I never thought I would do, but their reaction made it all worth it, 100 percent,” she said.

The brief ceremony caught the attention of nurses nearby, who couldn’t help but applaud when the OB nurse/officiant pronounced the couple husband and wife.

“It made my heart swell,” Segovia-Tomcho said.

After their baby’s delivery, Zach was able to cut the cord and hold his son, who lived for one hour.

“He was 6 pounds, 6 ounces and 18 inches long,” Zach said. “He would have grown to be a very big boy.”

The couple worked with labor and delivery nurse and bereavement coordinator Abi Kidwell to create mementos, including fingerprint charms, for Jennifer’s older children while Jennifer recovered in the hospital.

“The way they support one another is really beautiful,” Kidwell said of the couple, who were able to have their son with them for an extended period as his little body was kept cool in a Caring Cradle.

“This is the only time they get with their baby,” Kidwell said, “so we are so fortunate to have the donation of these Caring Cradles.”

Zach and Jennifer are now home, adjusting to life and planning a more proper wedding party in their backyard, even as they continue to grieve the loss of their son.

“We are hanging in there, being strong for each other,” Zach said.

“The Riley team was just amazing,” Jennifer said. “It’s awesome that they did that for us.”

Photos submitted and by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org