San Francisco 49ers Williams, wife, grieve loss of stillborn son

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Sondra Williams, the wife of San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams, announced that the couple had a son, Trenton Jr., who was stillborn on Nov. 24.

Posting to her Instagram account over the weekend, Sondra Williams said Trenton Jr. was stillborn 35 weeks into her pregnancy, adding that the couple lost Trenton's twin earlier in her pregnancy.

"Thank God for allowing us to bond for 35 weeks and for me to birth you so I could hold you in my arms," Sondra Williams wrote. "I'm at peace knowing you will never have to suffer."

In the post, Sondra Williams said Trenton Jr. had been diagnosed with trisomy 13, also known as Patau syndrome. According to the National Institute of Health, trisomy 13 is "a type of chromosome disorder characterized by having three copies of chromosome 13 in cells of the body, instead of the usual two."

Trisomy 13 causes "severe intellectual disability and many physical abnormalities" and the Cleveland Clinic states that trisomy 13 symptoms are "life-threatening and many cases result in a miscarriage or the baby passing away before turning 1."

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Monday afternoon that Trent Williams, who has sat out the past couple of games because of a left ankle injury, had spent much of last week grieving the loss of his son.

"It's something that happened last week and he was there at the hospital with her and got to meet him and say bye," Shanahan said. "And then he had to cremate him on Friday. He's been dealing with that and he's working through it. We're all just trying to be here for him through it all."

Williams is the second 49er known to be dealing with the loss of a child this season. Cornerback Charvarius Ward announced on Oct. 29 that his 1-year-old daughter, Amani Joy, had died after dealing with heart problems. Ward sat out the ensuing three games after the Niners returned from the bye but played in his first game since his daughter's death against the Buffalo Billson Sunday night.

During his Monday conference call, Shanahan was a bit choked up while discussing what Williams is going through, but noted that the Niners will do whatever they can to make sure Williams and his family have what they need as they grieve, just as they did for Ward and his family.

"It's hard as a coach," Shanahan said. "It's hard as a friend, it's hard as a family member. It's hard for everybody. But we spend a lot of time with each other. That's what's cool about a football team. Whatever you go through, the good or the bad, we go through it together.

"You can never escape that full grief, but I do think it's nice for those guys to have another avenue to get out on the football field, to get around teammates and things like that."