Jason Arakgi is one of most reliable players on the B.C. Lions’ roster.
But now he’s speaking out about the birth of his daughter, Mabel, and the challenges his family faced when she was born.
The now-one-year-old girl was born on May 12, 2016, which also happens to be Arakgi’s birthday.
His wife, Marianne, felt a severe pain in her side in the early morning hours that day, five weeks before her due date. She thought her water had broke.
“I ran into the bathroom saying ‘happy birthday Jason! My water broke! And I got to the washroom but it wasn’t water. It was all blood,” she said.
They called 911 and Marianne was rushed to the hospital.
Marianne had suffered a placental abruption, which is when the placenta partially or completely separates from the uterus. The condition deprives the baby of oxygen and is considered very dangerous to the mother and the child.
But in the space of about an hour, the situation went from the worse-case scenario to a happy ending.
Get daily news
“It went from ‘you might lose both of them’ to ‘no, everything’s OK, we’ve got them’,” said Arakgi.
No doubt it was the best birthday gift Arakgi will ever have.
-With files from Shanel Pratap