The birth of a child is typically the happiest day in a parent's life. But for a Minneapolis family, it started a mother's fight for her life.

About five years ago, in the thick of COVID, Tony and Annie Sterle went to the hospital eager to meet their son. But things didn't go as planned.

"There was a time when I wanted to be a vet, there was a time when I wanted to be an actress and all the things, but kind of underlying all of that, I always wanted to be a mom," Annie Sterle said. "I feel like I now get to have the motherhood that I always dreamed of, despite the very bumpy road it took to get here."

Our Producers, Becky Rizzio and Annie Sterle spent the weekend in Washington DC for the 2025 AIM Annual Meeting. The 2025 AIM Annual Meeting is an in-person, national conferenced developed to foster connection, collaboration, and education of AIM teams addressing severe maternal morbidity, mortality, and contributing health inequities.

HIBBING—An award winning documentary film, telling a mother’s story of surviving a rare and often fatal complication at childbirth, is coming to a theater on the Range.

The film entitled, “24 Days Without You,” is being shown at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Mann’s Cinema 8 Theater in Hibbing.

Presenting a movie at the Twin Cities Film Fest was an incredible opportunity to showcase our work to a vibrant, engaged audience in the heart of Minnesota’s Film Community. Our documentary allowed us to connect with other creators and inspired important conversations that extended beyond the screen.

After all that’s happened, Tony Sterle still remembers his wife, Annie, walking down the stairs holding the results of her pregnancy test. Nine months later, Annie’s labor was induced. At first, she appeared healthy. As her labor progressed, she lost consciousness.