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Gladiator star Steel and his wife Samantha have revealed they are trying for another baby following the tragic loss of their premature son, Leo.
Steel, 34, – whose real name is Zack George – announced that Leo had been born prematurely at 23 weeks on March 26 but passed away on April 7, after being cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit.
After revealing a ‘risky’ procedure was a factor in their son Leo’s passing, the couple, who are parents to daughter Ivy, two, announced they have started trying for another baby in a bid to feel ‘the void’ left by their son’s death.
Samantha confessed that despite the move coming ‘a really short time’ after the tragedy, they were determined to give Ivy ‘a friend for life’.
Speaking to The Mirror, she said: ‘I love Ivy so much I want to give her a friend for life, we’ve been given the OK to try again when we’re ready…
‘It’s been a really short time, but I need to fill that void, we want another baby, another little boy, but we both say, ”Whatever Leo decides to give us”, people say you’ll never replace Leo, but I do feel my next baby will be a big part of him.’
Zack and Samantha revealed a ‘risky’ procedure contributed to Leo’s death as doctors fought to save his life, while also detailing the tough decisions he and Samantha had to make in the heartbreaking situation.
The couple explained how Leo’s survival statistics ‘weren’t great’ but he ‘was big and had a good heart rate’ which gave them hope.
Unfortunately, Leo began to get air pockets around his lungs which were ‘getting bigger’ leading doctors to believe it was caused by a tube that created a hole in his windpipe.
‘It’s no one’s fault, a baby that young is really fragile, it’s just a risk, that was really hard, because if it hadn’t happened, he would probably still be here,’ he added.
Zack and his wife laid their baby son to rest at a funeral service in May and shared a selection of the floral arrangements that had been on display in a social media post.
The heartbreaking post also included a moving image of Leo’s small white coffin, with his parents holding hands on top of it.
A month after Leo’s death, the family held a funeral to say goodbye to their little boy and Zack revealed the speech he had read out at the service.
The speech read: ‘The hardest speech I’ve ever had to read. You came into this world early, tiny and brave, with a heart that beat like thunder.
‘Thirteen days. That’s all we had. But in that time, you taught us more about love, and courage, than most ever will. Your body was small, but your spirit was big, fierce and unafraid.
‘We called you Leo, our lion, not for how loud you roared, but for how hard you fought to stay. You knew our voices, you knew our touch, the warmth of our hearts pressed against yours.’
He continued: ‘You were held, you were known and you were loved. And though the world only had a brief chance to meet you, you changed it and You changed us.
‘Now that you rest, we still carry you— in every quiet moment, in the breath between tears, in the space you filled just by being here. our son, our lion— you will always matter. You will always be ours. Rest easy our little boy.’
Last month, Zack opened up about what Leo had to endure during his 13 days fighting in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
In a heart-wrenching caption, he detailed the immense challenges Leo faced during his time in NICU, writing: ‘What Leo had to endure during his 13 days fighting in NICU.
‘Three blood transfusions, collapsed lung, a grade one and grade two bleed on his brain, a hole in his heart (PDA heart condition), a hole in his trachea causing air pockets in his lungs.’
Zack also announced the launch of a charity challenge in Leo’s memory, called ’13 days fighting’.
If you have been affected by this story contact The Lullaby Trust on 0808 802 6868 or email support@lullabytrust.org
