MOSS BLUFF – A Lake Charles family is trying to pick up the pieces after a woman died one day after giving birth to a healthy baby boy earlier this month.

According to a GoFundMe page, Sarah Bertrand, 29, died on May 10, just over 24 hours after giving birth to Julian Charles Montou. The boy’s father, Jean Luc Montou, said his fiancée died of a pulmonary embolism that stopped her heart instantly.

“It just happened within moments and she was gone,” Montou shared on Facebook. “I loved this woman so much and there was no warning.”

Montou said that the family did not have life insurance. He created a GoFundMe campaign on May 12 with a goal of $8,000 to pay for funeral costs. The campaign raised more than $10,000 in its first four days.

“Sarah wanted everything for Julian and he made her so happy,” Montou wrote. “I had never seen her so strong, so confident, and so joyful as when she held her new baby boy.”

Montou said Bertrand was buried next to her father Monday.

“It still stings deep, it still feels unfair, and I still feel so helpless without her,” Montou said. “The world is definitely a dark place without Sarah for us.”

Bertrand was born and raised in Lake Charles and is a graduate of A.M. Barbe High School.