Their partners died during childbirth. These dads are turning grief into strength
Tysean Johnson, Jose Perez and Bruce McIntyre III each lost their life partners in recent years under what they believe were preventable medical circumstances during labor and delivery.
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Black women in the U.S. are more than three times as likely to die from childbirth-related causes as white women, according to the Center for Disease Control. Fathers and family members are often left behind to raise their children alone, while grieving. On this Father's Day, News 12's Shakti Denis sat down with three of those dads who are turning their grief into resilience.
Tysean Johnson, Jose Perez and Bruce McIntyre III each lost their life partners in recent years under what they believe were preventable medical circumstances during labor and delivery.
Johnson’s girlfriend, Troi Briana Lyon Blackman, died in July 2024. Perez’s fiancée, Christine Fields, died in 2023. McIntyre lost his partner, Amber Rose Isaac, in 2020.
“I’m still trying to figure it out as I go,” Johnson said. “Her smile helps the most, honestly.”
Their stories come amid a national maternal health crisis. Black women in the U.S. are more than three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the deaths of mothers often receive public attention, the lives of those they leave behind, especially fathers, are rarely spotlighted.
Perez, now raising three children under the age of 6, says the pain hasn’t gone away. But neither has his commitment. “It’s really scary to have all these babies and be a single parent,” he said. “I worry about their future. I worry about who they going to be with if I’m not here.”
In the days and weeks after the loss, each father leaned on family, community, and each other.
“As men, we need more safe spaces to have conversations like this,” McIntyre said.
The three met up with News 12 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park to reflect on their journeys through grief and fatherhood.
“Life doesn’t stop for you,” McIntyre added. “You can’t stop and just live in your grief.”
Their message this Father’s Day: love doesn’t end with loss.
