The nursery was almost complete. The family had spent most of the day working on it. All that was missing was the soft cry of a tender little one.

A baby shower had come before. Pink was the dominant color. She was just a month away now.

Ryan and Tara Walters were married in February. They knew by then they would soon be parents. They couldn't wait.

Their friendship began in the seventh grade when they first met dating each other's best friends. After a six-year relationship that began as juniors in high school when Ryan was the star quarterback and Tara was a cheerleader, they were ready to begin a family.

They were expecting a daughter to arrive by May 21. It was April 13 and Tara had been concerned throughout a busy day that the baby wasn't as active as usual.

After eight months of pregnancy, she was keenly aware of every small change going on inside her. Tara had just been to the doctor the day before and underwent an ultrasound that showed nothing unusual. Yet, she was worried.

"I just knew something was wrong," she said.

They left for the hospital late on that Sunday evening, hoping to return relieved and ready for bed.

They found heartbreak instead.

Audrey Lynn Walters was stillborn April 14 about 24 hours after Tara and Ryan arrived at the hospital. Doctors performed myriad tests, none of which provided an answer to why her tiny heart had stopped short of her first breath.

Enough time has passed and the Walters are now comfortable talking about the tragedy.

“It has put life into perspective,” said Ryan Walters, a senior captain on the Colorado football team. “Football really isn’t everything. So you enjoy the minor miracles in your life, and you learn how to bounce back from a tragedy.

“I’ve been awestruck from my wife and how she has handled things. It just lets me know that I can get through anything.”

The couple held their daughter in the hospital that night. It was a scene Ryan’s mother, Nicole, described as “holy ground.” They watched as nurses recorded every physical detail about Audrey, including taking her footprints. Ryan later tattooed one of those tiny footprints, along with an angel’s wings, on the right side of his chest.

Ryan and Tara leaned on each other, their faith and the overwhelming support that surrounded them from their families and the entire Colorado football program. They began to plan a funeral just two months after their wedding.

“It definitely makes me look at life completely different,” Tara Walters said. “I just want to cherish every moment I have with my loved ones and family. It just makes me feel grateful. People have complaints and everything about their lives, but really when it comes down to it, life is so short and you should be with the people you love.”

CU coach Dan Hawkins’ eyes tear up and he exhales an enormous breath as he begins to talk about what he has seen Ryan and Tara endure. Hawkins spent part of that April night at the hospital feeling helpless but wanting to be there for the couple.

“It rocked him,” Hawkins said of Ryan. “It rocked all of us. I mean, that’s just a tragedy. But I mean, as well as a young man could handle it, he’s done a great job.

“Those things are never easy. All you can do is be there for them and there is never the right thing to say or the right thing to do, you just have to be there for them and let them know you care. It’s just sad. It really is.”

Ryan and Tara said holding Audrey and making a physical connection with her at the hospital helped them with their grief. It allowed them to reach a level of comfort with telling their story and sharing their sorrow in order to help others who might endure similar experiences.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 25,000 stillbirths occur every year in the U.S. The World Health Organization estimates about 4 million occur around the world each year.

A stillbirth is defined as the loss of a fetus after 20 weeks or more of gestation. The effects on parents are obviously devastating, and many are lacking the support system surrounding the Walters.

“Don’t keep anything in,” Tara Walters said, voicing the advice she wants to share with others in her shoes. “Verbalize how you feel. There are always people who want to talk to you. Don’t think that you are alone or you are the only one. People can help you with their experiences.”

The Walters didn’t need to look far to find empathy.

Ryan’s parents, Marc and Nicole, lost twin boys 19 years ago in the sixth month of pregnancy. They had Ryan during Marc’s career as a quarterback at Colorado in 1986. They discovered they were supposed to have twins three years later, but they never got to experience the joy of those boys.

“I wish there was a different common ground that Tara and I had, but I was grateful that I could speak to her from a place of knowing,” Nicole Walters said.

Marc and Nicole Walters survived the loss of their boys in the same way Tara and Ryan are coping now. They relied on each other, family and faith. They went on to have another son, Cole, and have been married for 21 years.

Their example has helped Ryan and Tara. In the immediate aftermath of losing Audrey, they didn’t want to try to have children again. They have since changed their minds.

“I think sometimes people don’t like talking about it because of the magnitude of the situation,” Ryan Walters said. “There are a lot of people that go through it and something that has helped us is seeing other people that have gone through the same thing. There is light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. You can get through it and you can grow from it.”