According to the confirmation provided by her husband, nursing influencer Hailey Okula, who had been open and honest about her challenges with infertility and her journey through pregnancy on social media, passed away after giving birth to her first child.
The awful news was posted on the Instagram profile of Matthew Okula’s wife, Hailey Marie Okula, on Tuesday, April 1. He wrote, “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.”
“Words cannot convey the depth of the loss I feel,” Matthew added on the Instagram account, which has 420,000 followers. “I am completely heartbroken.” In terms of a wife and a companion, Hailey exceeded all of my expectations and beyond my wildest dreams.
“Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but she was also very intelligent, diligent, passionate, trustworthy, and above all else, really devoted. Over the course of over thirteen years, she has been at my side through the most difficult of times, loving me without end, even when I thought that I did not deserve her love. “She was my everything,” he said, accompanied by a montage tape that included scan photographs, a photograph of their son Crew, trips to the hospital, and other significant occasions.
RN New Grads is a program that was established by Hailey, who is known on Instagram as “Nurse Hailey,” in 2019 with the intention of providing assistance to freshly graduated nurses. According to the website, it provides “educational resources, interview help,” in addition to other services.
Following what she described as “dealing with infertility for almost two years,” Hailey announced on September 17, 2024, the “indescribable” news that she was pregnant. She then proceeded to publish video and updates during her pregnancy with her husband Matthew, who is employed by the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).
During the article that was published on Tuesday, Matthew said, “Hailey’s strength was unmatched.” It is impossible to adequately express how much we wanted to become parents. Following a protracted and difficult procedure of in vitro fertilization (IVF), we were ecstatic to learn that we were going to be having a child named Crew.
“Hailey faced every hurdle with so much courage and love—even though her body went through so much, she never wavered,” he said in conclusion. “The moment I broke down and apologized for the toll that the procedure will have on her is something that I will never completely forget. The words “We are a team, and we will get through this together” were said to me as she was holding my face and looking into my eyes. It was Hailey who did it. In the combat. A member of the team. The kind of lady who would go to any lengths for the people she cared about.
Matthew concluded his message by saying, “Even though her time with us was tragically cut short, Hailey’s love for Crew was limitless, long before he entered this world.” She had the potential to be the most incredible mother. It is through our son, as well as through everyone else whose lives she touched, that her bravery, love, and spirit will continue to live on.
“On March 29, 2025, during the delivery of their child, Mrs. Hailey Okula, wife of LAFD Engineer Matthew Okula, tragically passed away,” the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) wrote alongside a wedding photo of the couple; they added that they were grateful for those who were “working to support Engineer Okula and his newborn, Crew, during this unimaginably difficult time.” The LAFD was one of the many organizations that paid tribute to Hailey on Instagram.
It was reported by Fox 11 Los Angeles that Hailey had a heart arrest only a few minutes after giving birth to Crew.
“She wanted to be mom so incredibly bad,” Matthew said to the station in a video footage that was published by the Los Angeles Fire Department. He was cradling his newborn baby on his lap at the time.
On what should have been the greatest day of their life, Firefighter Matt Okula faced the unfathomable, according to a description that was posted on a GoFundMe page that was established to assist Matthew and infant Crew.
They were determined to construct the family they had dreamt of for such a long time, and for that reason, they confronted every hardship together. On the other hand, in an instant, that dream was broken,” the website stated, adding that Matthew was now getting ready to “navigate life as a single parent while mourning the love of his life.”
Matthew is not the kind of person to seek assistance, but those who are familiar with him, particularly his brothers and sisters who work in the fire department, are aware of the sort of guy he is. A guy whose whole life has been devoted to the protection of other people. “At this point, it is our responsibility to safeguard him,” the message said.
