J.R. Storment and Jessica Brandes have endured a tragedy no parent should ever have to bear.

Their 8-year-old son Wiley died unexpectedly.

They also had to break the news to Wiley’s twin Oliver that his best friend before birth had passed.

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“The weeks that followed were and continue to be a dizzy blur of people, apologies, food and flowers,” Brandes wrote in her essay. “Our family of 4 now has to learn to be a family of 3. We’ve lost our son, and Oliver has lost his twin and his perpetual best friend since before birth.”

Wiley died unexpectedly in his sleep. It is believed that he passed away from Rolandic Epilepsy, according to People.

He had been diagnosed with a mild form of the condition that they were told was benign and usually resolves itself.

“The pediatrician basically said, and the neurologist we consulted said, ‘it’s the best form of epilepsy he can get. It is only going to affect him at night and he is going to grow out of it by the time he is a teenager,’” Storment told KOIN 6.

This left both of his parents to craft heartbreaking essays begging parents to spend more time with their children.

Storment is a tech mogul, and Brandes is a naturopathic doctor.

They both had hectic work schedules that left them wishing they had focused more on family and less on work.

Unfortunately, our current economy no longer affords families the luxury of being able to provide for their families under a single parent’s income.

Not only are both parents forced to work in many families in order to survive, so many Americans have also been pushed to work beyond 40 hours per week for stagnant wages.

While working extreme hours isn’t financially necessary for all, some have done so out of passion or prestige for their jobs.

Busy work schedules left Storment and Brandes grappling with guilt alongside trying to heal the grief of the loss of their son.

“Many have asked what they can do to help. Hug your kids. Don’t work too late. A lot of the things you are likely spending your time on you’ll regret once you no longer have the time. I’m guessing you have 1:1 meetings on the books with a lot of people you work with. Do you have them regularly scheduled with your kids? If there’s any lesson to take away from this, it’s to remind others (and myself) not to miss out on the things that matter,” Storment wrote.

Storment said that he had to evaluate his relationship with his job before deciding whether or not he’d return at all.

“The big question is how to return to work in a way that won’t leave me again with the regrets I have now. To be honest, I’ve considered not going back,” Storment wrote.

Work-obsessed culture, which the L.A. Times reports has come to a point where it “outweighs family values,” children are also pressured to keep overburdened schedules so they can be competitive in the future instead of just being children now. Brandes is asking parents to focus on just loving your children.

“We limit them, we guide them, we parent them and all of that is important but at the same time we also have to remember to just love them,” said Jessica. “Because the one thing I think about so often is did he feel as much love as I felt for him.”

“If there’s any lesson to take away from this, it’s to remind others—and myself—not to miss out on the things that matter,” said Storment.

Learn more about this tragic story in the video below.

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Source: People, KOIN 6