Marshawn Kneeland‘s pregnant girlfriend Catalina Mancera is ready to get in the motherhood game.
Nearly two months after the Dallas Cowboys defensive end died by apparent suicide at 24, the entrepreneur shared a message to their unborn baby.
“I dreamed of you long before I ever knew you,” Mancera wrote on Instagram alongside an ultrasound photo. “I dreamed of building a family, of the life your dad and I talked about and imagined together. I’m so excited for you, but my heart still aches. It aches for the moments I won’t get to share with him, and for the love I wish you could experience the way I did.”
As she wades through the grieving process, the founder of custom game-day apparel business Szn Stitches, preparing for their June arrival remains a bright spot.
“I don’t think time will ever make this easier, but I know God knew what my heart needed,” she noted. “He blessed me with you when I needed you most. In the middle of all this, you gave me purpose, hope, and something to hold onto. I trust God’s timing, even when it hurts, and I know He’s carrying us both.”