Ohio Mom’s Journey Through Grief After Losing Twin

DeAnna Boughman, a 35-year-old mother from Ohio, recently shared the poignant story behind keeping an ultrasound image of her twins on her refrigerator for over three years. Tragically, DeAnna and her husband Jeremy, 43, lost one of the twins, their daughter Arabella. Yet, DeAnna kept the sonogram visible as a cherished reminder.

DeAnna and Jeremy, who have four children ages 22, 7, 5, and 3, had long hoped to have twins. DeAnna told Newsweek that twins were present on both sides of their families. When she became pregnant at an unexpected time, discovering she was carrying twins felt like an answered prayer.

The ultrasound initially symbolized hope and joy. After Arabella’s passing, it became a profound reminder. “I couldn’t bear to take it down,” DeAnna explained. “Every time I walked into my kitchen and saw those two tiny babies together, I was reminded that God had been faithful before my world fell apart.”

The sonogram stayed on the fridge through the joys of pregnancy, the birth of the twins, and the sorrow of Arabella’s loss. DeAnna needed time to decide to remove it. “I wasn’t ready to take it down, and I don’t think that’s something I needed to force or rush,” she said.

Removing the ultrasound did not signify that DeAnna was moving on from Arabella. Rather, it showed a shift in how she managed her grief. The sonogram remains “incredibly precious” to her and is kept safe.

DeAnna shared her decision on Instagram, where the post became viral, gaining over 360,000 views. She hopes her story comforts other grieving parents who feel pressured to follow others’ timelines. “I’ve learned that grief isn’t something we overcome by loving less,” DeAnna said. “We grieve deeply because we love deeply, and that love doesn’t disappear when the person we love dies. We simply have to learn how to tend to a love that can no longer be expressed in all the ways it once was. There is no deadline on love.”

Though the ultrasound no longer hangs on her refrigerator, its importance remains unchanged. “If leaving the ultrasound on my refrigerator for three and a half years reminds even one grieving person that God is faithful in the valley and that they don’t have to force healing, then sharing our story will have been worth it,” DeAnna said.