‘Nurse Hailey,’ as she was known to her 453,000 followers, died suddenly after she went into cardiac arrest due to a rare childbirth complication
On Tuesday, April 1, Matthew Okula shared the tragic news that his wife, Hailey Okula, died due to complications after giving birth to their son, Crew, via c-section.
Shortly after announcing her death, Matthew spoke to Fox 11 Los Angeles and revealed that she went into cardiac arrest after suffering an amniotic fluid embolism.
Days later, the grieving husband took to the nursing influencer’s viral page, RNNewGrads — which has over 450,000 followers — to share sweet memories from their wedding day.
Matthew Okula is mourning the life of his late wife, nursing influencer Hailey Okula, who died on March 31 due to complications after childbirth.
On Friday, April 4, her grieving husband posted a series of heartfelt Instagram Stories on her page looking back on their wedding day. The “raw, unedited videos” showed the couple’s first dance. “I want everyone to see a little more into who Hailey was outside of RNNewGrads,” he wrote in overlaying text, referring to the name of the account where she posted career advice to 450,000 followers.
The first clip shows the happy couple embracing as they swayed on an empty dance floor in front of their guests. They leaned in for a kiss in the following snippet, which Matthew captioned to match the music playing: “I choose you,” he said with a heart emoji.
Another video featured the ER nurse — known online as “Nurse Hailey — bouncing in her white gown as she danced alongside gleeful guests to Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
“The Hailey I fell in love with,” Matthew wrote, adding, “This video will definitely be reposted again.”
He first confirmed the news of her death on Tuesday, April 1, with a Reel shared to her Instagram account, on which she’d previously spoken openly about her infertility struggles and pregnancy journey to welcome their son, Crew.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I share the devastating news of the unexpected passing of my beautiful wife, Hailey Marie Okula, due to complications from childbirth,” wrote Matthew. His caption accompanied a montage of memories from their pregnancy journey, including ultrasound scans, IVF treatments, hospital visits and a photo of Crew.
His post continued, “Words cannot convey the depth of the loss I feel. Hailey was more than I could have ever dreamed of in a wife and partner.”
In an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles, her husband revealed that minutes after their first son was born via cesarean section, his wife went into cardiac arrest after suffering an amniotic fluid embolism.
Nursing Influencer Hailey Okula’s Husband Reveals His Final Moment with Her in Delivery Room Before Her Unexpected Death
“She wanted to be a mom so incredibly bad,” Matthew said of Hailey during the local broadcast.
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After the arrival of their baby, he noted that the two shared a “quick little laugh” over their son’s personality as Hailey shed a tear. He then recalled the tragic events that unfolded as he and his son Crew walked out of the room.
“It just came upon me so quickly, unexpectedly,” Matthew began. “A minute later, the doctor let’s me know that they’re doing CPR on her. I’m making the decision, ‘Am I going to the ICU to be with my wife or am I staying with my newborn little baby?'”
While looking down at his little one cradled in his arms, he emotionally recalled, “Not the decision I thought I would be making.”
A GoFundMe was set up to help Matthew and Crew. The page description reads, “On what should have been the happiest day of their lives, Firefighter Matt Okula experienced the unimaginable.”
“They faced every challenge together, determined to build the family they had dreamed of for so long. But in an instant, that dream was shattered,” the fundraiser’s organizers wrote, adding that Matthew was now preparing to “navigate life as a single father while grieving the love of his life.”
“Matt is not one to ask for help—but those who know him, especially his brothers and sisters in the fire service, know the kind of man he is. A man who has dedicated his life to protecting others. Now, it’s our turn to protect him,” the post concluded.
The GoFundMe had raised over $338,000 as of Friday, April 4.
