Eli Raridon and Anna Raridon are navigating a tragic loss. 

The New England Patriots tight end and his wife Anna shared that their son Peter James Raridon died shortly after his birth on Sept. 11 as a result of anencephaly, a fatal birth defect in which the fetal brain and skull don’t develop as expected in the womb. 

“When Eli and I went in for our 20-week anatomy scan, excited to see our sweet baby boy, our hearts were forever changed,” Anna shared in a joint Instagram post with Eli Sept. 29. “Our little one was diagnosed with anencephaly, a fatal condition in which he would not survive outside the womb.”

She continued, “While we are absolutely devastated that we were unable to bring our baby boy home, I am grateful to have loved him deeply, kept him safe, and had been his home for the past 9 months before he was called back to Heaven.”