Life After Loss

August 26, 2025

We are the Pettinatos—Kristen and Jared. I am a first-grade teacher in Mesa, Arizona, and Jared serves as Creative Director at our home church, Echoes Church. Our story began as high school sweethearts, and 17 years later—12 of them married—we continue to walk side by side through both the joys and heartaches of life. Together, we have been blessed with two beautiful children: our daughter, Nora, and our son, Jack.

Nora is five years old, full of energy, sass, and wonder. She just started kindergarten, and she keeps our home filled with laughter and love. Jack, our sweet angel boy, lives in heaven. His story is short, but it is mighty—and it has forever marked our hearts.

Jack Martin was born on March 28, 2025, one day before his big sister’s birthday. He was perfect in every way, gentle and calm, the baby we had long prayed for. But what we did not know was that both Jared and I carry a rare genetic mutation of the HADHB gene. Though unaffected ourselves, we each passed a copy to Jack, making him an affected carrier of Trifunctional Protein Deficiency (TFP)—a devastating metabolic disorder so rare that fewer than 50,000 people in the U.S. are believed to be living with it.

At first, Jack seemed healthy, but on his third day of life, his tiny body began to struggle. His heart worked harder than it could bear. After time in the NICU at Banner Desert Hospital, Jack was airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Surrounded by some of the best doctors and nurses, and wrapped in love, Jack’s journey ended on April 3, 2025—just six days after it began.

The weight of losing Jack is indescribable. We left the hospital with empty arms and shattered dreams. We didn’t get to rock him to sleep, watch his first smile, or see him grow alongside his sister. Life continued moving forward, but for us, time stood still. Each day since, we have learned how to live again—clinging to our faith, leaning on our loved ones, and holding tight to the memories of our sweet boy.

Jack’s story may be brief, but it is powerful. He has shaped us, stretched us, and continues to remind us of the depth of both love and loss.

As we honor Jack’s life, we also hold close the desire still beating in our hearts—the longing to grow our family. That longing has led us here, to the start of a new chapter: our journey with IVF after loss.

This space will be where we share our story: the grief and the grace, the heartbreak and the hope, the faith and the fight to keep moving forward. Jack’s life is the beginning of this journey, and his legacy is woven into every step we take from here.