“We were unable to bring our baby boy home”: Eli Raridon and wife Anna Raridon announce heartbreaking loss of their newborn son to anencephaly

Eli Raridon played college football for Notre Dame from 2022 to 2025. He married his high school sweetheart, Anna, in May 2025. Eli entered the NFL in 2026 as the third-round, 96th overall pick for the New England Patriots.The rookie tight end scored his first NFL touchdown on his first-ever NFL reception in the Patriots’ Week 1 loss to the Super Bowl LX winners, the Seattle Seahawks. Three weeks into the season, he announced a heartbreaking personal loss via Instagram.“Our angel Peter James Raridon was born on September 11th. When Eli and I went in for our 20th-week anatomy scan, excited to see our sweet baby boy, our hearts were changed forever. Our little one was diagnosed with anencephaly, a fatal condition in which he would not have survive outside the womb.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,” Eli and Anna wrote in a collaborative Instagram post on September 29.What is anencephaly? The rare birth defect Eli Raridon and Anna’s baby boy had in the wombEli and Anna Raridon’s baby boy was diagnosed with a rare congenital abnormality called anencephaly.According to Healthline, anencephaly is a birth defect in which the brain and bones of the skull don’t form completely while the baby is in the womb. As a result, the baby’s brain, particularly the cerebral cortex, develops minimally. The cerebral cortex controls thinking, movement, and senses like touch, vision, and hearing.According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anencephaly is a serious birth defect where a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull at birth.As of January 2026, the incurable condition affects 1 in every 4,762 babies born with anencephaly in the United States.Risk factors include low folate levels in pregnancy, pre-existing health conditions like uncontrolled diabetes, certain medications such as anti-seizure medicines, and overheating [getting in a hot tub] or fever.The condition can be diagnosed during pregnancy using tests to check for birth defects and other conditions. Being pregnant with an anencephaly baby can result in an abnormal result on blood or serum tests. Anencephaly can also be seen on an ultrasound exam.The expected outcome is that there is no cure or standard treatment for anencephaly. Pregnancy loss is high. Almost all babies born with anencephaly will die shortly after birth.Eli and Anna Raridon may never understand the whyThe 22-year-old rookie tight end Eli Raridon and his wife, Anna, further wrote in the Instagram post, “We may never understand the why behind this journey, but one thing we know with certainty is that God promises to care for His children.I believe our little boy was lovingly knitted together in the womb by God, knowing how deeply he would be loved by our families, our friends, Eli, and me.Though his time with us was brief, his life still precious, his purpose still meaningful, and he will forever be a part of our story. I have loved you every second of your life & will miss you every second of mine. What a sweet sweet reunion ours will be.”Eli Raridon and Anna had announced their first pregnancy via Instagram in April 2026.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.