My wife saved $7,000 for her maternity leave. I asked her to give it to my sister, who is about to give birth—she refused. Then she revealed something that completely devastated me…

After eight days, Mateo managed to breathe on his own for a few minutes. After twelve, he opened his eyes for the first time while Álvaro watched. It was a brief moment, but enough to completely disarm him. It was as if Clara, in some corner of the silence, had left one last gift.

Three weeks later, the medical team decided that Mateo no longer needed intensive care. He would remain hospitalized, but his life was no longer in immediate danger. The news swept through the hospital like a ray of hope. Many staff members had followed the case from the beginning: the perimortem cesarean section, the last-second rescue, the baby’s fight for survival.

Finally, a month and a half later, Álvaro was able to hold Mateo without wires or masks. He held him with a mixture of pride, gratitude, and a deep sorrow for Clara’s inevitable absence. But he also knew that his wife would have wanted this moment more than anything in the world.

On the day of his discharge, Fernanda said goodbye with a warm hug.

“Take good care of him,” she told him. “This story could have ended differently. But Mateo is here because you didn’t give up.”

Álvaro looked at his sleeping son and felt that he could finally breathe again. He had lived through the most difficult tragedy of his life, but he had also found a new reason to keep going.

And now, as she hugged her little one as she left the hospital, all she could think about was sharing this story so that others would remember how fragile and precious life is.