Popular nursing influencer Hailey Okula — who gained hundreds of thousands of followers sharing her struggles getting pregnant — has died of complications from giving birth to her first child.
Okula — an ER nurse known online as Nurse Hailey — died from unspecified complications after giving birth to her son, Crew, late last month, her husband, Matthew Okula, wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
“Words cannot convey the depth of the loss I feel,” he wrote alongside a heartwarming video collage of their relationship.
“Hailey was more than I could have ever dreamed of in a wife and partner,” the grieving husband told his wife’s 421,000 followers.
“She was gorgeous, smart, hardworking, passionate, trustworthy, and, above all else, unbelievably loyal. For nearly 13 years, she stood by my side in the hardest of times, loving me endlessly, even when I felt undeserving of that love. She was my everything.”
Nurse Hailey grew her large following from sharing her infertility struggles in a two-year journey to get pregnant through IVF.
When she was finally able to share the good news in September, she told her followers: “Being able to say that we are pregnant is indescribable.”
“From my infertility problems, to my husband’s infertility problems, to us having to create a special probe because we both carry the same genetic disease, lotsssss of meds and lots of money, the journey has been hard, but so worth it,” she wrote at the time.
Matthew Okula did not reveal exactly when — or how — his wife died, beyond saying it was “due to complications from childbirth.”
He also recalled how “overjoyed” they were to finally be expecting Crew.
“Words can’t describe how badly we wanted to be parents,” he wrote in Tuesday’s heartbreaking announcement.
“I will never forget the moment I broke down, apologizing for the toll the process would take on her. She held my face, looked into my eyes, and said, ‘We are a team, and we’ll get through this together,’” he wrote.
Thousands of Okula’s followers responded to the news with heartfelt condolences — with many sharing how her content helped them through nursing school or their own infertility struggles.
“I am truly shocked and heartbroken for your entire family; there are no words. Hailey was such a light in this nursing community. She and I messaged back and forth throughout our pregnancies and I am devastated to hear this news,” one follower wrote.
Another chimed in: “She was my nurse during one of my toughest hospitalizations. I’ll never forget her kindness and quick help.”
Absolutely devastating. She helped me and so many other people through the trenches of nursing school. I am so sorry!!” another follower added.
“I can’t believe this! She was soooo excited about becoming a new mom,” another added. “She even replied to my comment, saying thank you when I told her she was the best content producer for her ER skits…I WILL MISS HER!!!”
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