Melbourne resident Chris Mondello’s daughter Sarah Margaret would have been 42 years old this year.
Mondello said when his wife went into labor, there was no heartbeat.
“It was full term,” Mondello said. “It felt like … it was going to be a normal childbirth. And when we got to the hospital, when my wife went into labor, there was no heartbeat, so technically, she was stillborn.”
Oviedo resident Andy Huffman can relate. He describes the loss that he and his wife suffered as the worst club to be a part of. His daughter Eva was stillborn in 2015.
“My wife was 38.5 weeks,” Huffman said. “Everything was great on Friday. Monday, she wakes up and she's like, I haven't felt her kicking. I didn’t feel her kicking much last night. So we went into the hospital and they couldn't find a heartbeat. That was it.”
Central Florida Public Media has partnered with StoryCorps’ One Small Step initiative to bring strangers with differing political views together for a guided conversation. Huffman and Mondello recently sat down together.
Meet Chris Mondello
Mondello was born and raised in rural New York, and is a chemist by training.
He was married for 40 years to his wife, and they have four adult children and eight grandchildren. Mondello is now married to a Black gay man.
Previously, his wife’s miscarriage led to political discussions at home. After the miscarriage, all the pregnancies were high-risk and doctors would want to do an amniocentesis.
“We’re not gonna take that risk to harm the baby, because we would never consider an abortion,” Mondello said. “But to impose that view on somebody else, I don’t think is fair, because everybody doesn’t see things the same way. Other religions don’t see things the same way.”
Meet Andy Huffman
Huffman is originally from West Virginia, and spent seven years teaching English in China.
He’s been married for 19 years, and has five children, including Eva, who died in 2015. He describes himself as a “deeply flawed but committed follower of Jesus Christ.”
Huffman said he’s been rethinking his political views, especially after Covid, Black Lives Matter and the 2020 election. “What do you do with all the passages in the Old Testament where it talks about the responsibility of God’s people to care for the poor?”
Huffman said the current state of politics has left him frustrated.
“At this point, I just don't think either political party is selling what I would like to buy,” Huffman said. “Quite frankly, I voted for myself for president the last few elections.”
The takeaway
Both Huffman and Mondello are Christians, but view politics differently.
And the two agree: That’s alright.
“It’s why we exist as a country,” Huffman said. “Oh man, I love it. Having lived overseas in a place where there is no freedom of expression, I am so thankful.”
Mondello agreed.
“As long as we treat facts as facts, and that doesn’t mean we look at the facts the same way, it’s valid to have different perspectives on things,” Mondello said. “It’s part of the reason I was so willing to do something like this.”
Since having the conversation, Huffman and Mondello have met up for breakfast.
StoryCorps’ One Small Step and the Radio Station Hubs are made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
