The holidays ended in devastation for one Montreal family, as they prepared their home to welcome twin baby girls.
Fani Vlahova, who had been in the Royal Victoria Hospital for five weeks due to her high-risk pregnancy, passed away Dec. 29 after giving birth at 36 weeks to daughters Stefani and Elizabeth during a scheduled C-section.
READ MORE: Childbirth main reason for hospital stays in Canada, report suggests
He was quickly rushed out of the room while doctors attended to his 43-year-old wife.
“I was waiting outside and praying,” he recalled.
Minutes later, doctors emerged, telling Anguelov they suspect she suffered from an amniotic fluid embolism, a rare childbirth emergency when the fluid that surrounds the baby in the uterus enters a mother’s bloodstream.
READ MORE: Canadian women delaying childbirth, teen pregnancies falling: Stats Canada
“It’s a human reaction: blaming myself for exactly what I didn’t do for my wife,” he told Global News.
“It’s tough when this day is supposed to be the happiest day in your life and it turns out to be the most tragic day.”
“There were two or three days, I couldn’t even think about the twins. I went to the hospital mechanically, but everything was for my wife.”
The girls, who are now one week old, are in the NICU recovering; Anguelov said they are doing well but aren’t able to go home as they weigh less than 2 kg each.
READ MORE: Rural mothers at higher risk of serious childbirth complications
Anguelov, who immigrated to Quebec from Bulgaria 17 years ago, insists he doesn’t blame the hospital workers, saying the staff did the best they could.
“Her death is under investigation by a coroner,” confirmed Geneviève Guilbault, spokesperson for the Quebec Corner’s Office.
Anguelov said he wants to know what happened in order to have closure.
“My wife is an angel. I couldn’t live with that, without knowing the cause of death,” he said.
READ MORE: How strangers helped a baby hear his mother’s lullabies after she died in childbirth
A GoFundMe campaign was set up by friends of the family, and has far surpassed its $500 goal — about $5,610 was raised by 94 people within the last four days.
“She was meticulous about her work and cared so much for her students. Constantly trying to push them and find ways to motivate them to work for more,” Patrizia Fasulo, a friend and co-worker at the elementary school Vlahova worked at, told Global News.
“She was very passionate about her work and never settled for the bare minimum. She was always smiling and was there to uplift others.”
Anguelov said his main focus now is to go back to work so he can take care of his 11-year-old son and his daughters.
The funeral is scheduled for Sunday.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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