Childbirth is extremely difficult, whether you plan on having a C-section, or natural birth, but if there’s one thing that scares us is dying from childbirth. Each year, 900 women had reportedly died from childbirth, while 65,000 have experienced complications that ended up their lives. Matt and Liz’s story is no stranger to tragedy, but Matt couldn’t help but shake the feeling that there was a lot more to Liz’s untimely death.
Matt Logelin met the love of his life, Liz Goodman, when they were both in high school. Once school was over, they went their separate ways to attend college, but managed to stay in touch, despite the distance. But Matt couldn’t cope with the idea of being so far away from Liz, so he gave up the possibility of getting his Ph.D. to move closer to Liz, who was studying in California. They dated for 9 years, and tied the knot on August 13, 2005.
Matt was quickly hired to work as a project manager for Yahoo, but the position entailed a lot of international travel, as he was the head of the outsourcing program in India. Meanwhile, Liz had a prolific career as an executive at Disney. The couple was doing really well together, and both of their careers seem to be taking off, which is what prompted Matt to start blogging about his life, Liz, and the adventures they had together.
Matt was looking to document the little things in life that made him happy, such as all the incredible adventures he’s been on, and the many countries he’d visited. Liz was quite the traveler herself, and would often times join in on his trips. When the lovebirds traveled to Nepal, Matt got on one knee and popped the question at Durbar Square. So far, their relationship was pretty much picture-perfect, especially after realizing their family was about to expand.
Liz discovered she was pregnant in 2007, and news quickly brightened the lives of their loved ones who were overjoyed that after 10 years, these two were finally growing their family. Matt quickly told everyone the news and blogged about their shared happiness: the family was finally expanding! Matt had always wanted to be a dad, and was finally making his dreams come true. But despite being truly happy, Liz had to endure a few complications during her pregnancy.
Pregnant women face a myriad of symptoms that are considered to be normal, such as morning sickness, bloating, and other ailments. But Liz’s symptoms were a bit more extreme, so the doctor suggested she’d take 3 weeks of bed rest back at home. Sadly, that wasn’t enough, so the doctors ordered her to rest at the local hospital for 2 more weeks. As usual, Matt was standing by her side, rock solid.
To cope with Liz’s mandatory bed rest, Matt decided to blog on an hourly basis, and share her ordeal with his followers, who were mostly family members and close friends. Everyone wanted to know more about the baby, so they checked in every hour or so, hoping she’ll quickly recover, sending prayers, and keeping tabs on the situation. But just when they thought this was nothing but a hiccup, the doctor brought them some news that changed both their lives.
Liz underwent a C-section procedure, a pretty routine procedure, on March 24, 2008, and baby Madeline was brought into this world. C-sections are often performed on mothers who might experience complications during childbirth. Liz was overjoyed to meet her beautiful baby, but the newborn didn’t get to spend that much time with her. Matt was extremely overwhelmed by the situation, but beyond ecstatic to say the least.
Matt couldn’t hold it in much longer so he quickly told everyone about his brand new baby girl. He posted a message on his blog, “Madeline is here! The proud parents will continue to update everyone on our beautiful baby. Look forward to even more good news.” Everyone was extremely happy to find out that the baby was doing fine, so they were counting the days until they would finally meet Madeline. Meanwhile, Liz was starting to feel funny, and then everything went downhill from there.
Only 27 hours after giving birth to Madeline, Liz was ready to finally spend some time with the newborn. But when she sat down on a wheelchair, she started to feel bit off. She experienced some light-headedness, but quickly attributed it to having given birth so recently. But seconds before the nurses could find a way to help Liz, she passed out. Matt was starting to feel like there was something seriously wrong with his wife.
Liz was facing a pulmonary embolism, which simply means that one of her lungs had a blood clot, and blocking her airway. Around 60,000 to 200,000 people die from pulmonary embolisms every year in the United States alone. Unfortunately, Matt realized that his beautiful wife would not make it, and had to say goodbye to the person he’d loved for more than a decade.
That very same afternoon, Liz died at the hospital, and didn’t even get to hold Madeline before leaving this world. Matt went into shock, as just a few days before he was planning on starting a new life with Liz and the new baby, never imagining that he’d soon be planning Liz’s funeral instead. Instead of letting go, and dwelling in his grief, Matt decided to put his blogging skills to good use.
Blogging proved to be a pretty effective way to let his innermost thoughts and feelings loose. Matt transformed his blogging skills into therapy, and started posting random thoughts and feelings, in the hopes that it’ll help him vent. He renamed the blog to “Matt, Liz and Madeline: Life and Death, All in a 27-Hour Period” which quickly started receiving more traffic. 40,000 people were visiting his blog every day now, and Matt quickly realized he wasn’t alone.
With so many people reading his story, commenting, and empathizing with the young father’s painful loss, Matt’s blog quickly grew. People started sending him gifts, often times getting over 30 packages per day with diapers, clothing, and many other presents for Madeline. His story quickly reached the talk shows with Oprah Winfrey, Rachael Ray and others showing interest in Matt and Madeline’s life.
Matt released a book titled “Two Kisses For Maddy: A Memoir Of Loss And Love” in 2011, which talked about his life with Maddie in India, and how he was forced to abandon his former job at Yahoo to turn the page, and start a new life. Matt attended several events, such as the West Hollywood Book Fair, and the Gaithersburg Book Festival. Then one day, a famous celebrity decided to get in touch with Matt…
None other than actor Channing Tatum got in touch with Matt to reveal his plans. He wanted to turn Matt’s book, into a feature film, and wanted to shine a light on Matt and Liz’s story. Lifetime picked up the script back in 2012. Matt is now in a relationship with “Bob’s Burgers” writer/producer, Lizzie Molyneux, and the couple is set to be married in 2018. Liz’s memory still lives on with The Liz Logelin Foundation, which seeks to help widows who are struggling financially with children. So far, the foundation has helped over 70 families, but that number is expected to grow as time goes by.