A Littleton, Colo. father is learning how to be the best father to his baby daughter, even as he mourns his wife, who he lost during child birth.
Little Angelique Keyvonne Connie was meant to be born in January, but on Nov. 30, Keyvonne Connie, the girl’s mother, started hemorrhaging, prompting the family to speed to the hospital.
There, Frederick Connie was forced to make a horrible decision, according to KDVR.
“It was either give her the surgery first and maybe save her life, but you’re going to lose your daughter. Or your daughter can be saved but there’s a chance you might lose your wife,” Frederick Connie told the news station.
Connie opted to go through with the emergency C-section to save his daughter, knowing how his wife felt about children.
“I’m glad I made that decision because in the end if Keyvonne probably could have survived she would have hated me for the rest of my life because I knew how she felt about kids,” he said.
Keyvonne survived the C-section and was able to see pictures of her newborn. However, just a few minutes later, her health started declining and she died.
“I gave her her mom’s name. She’s going to know her mom. I’ll make sure of that,” Connie said. “They tried [to save Keyvonne] and her heart couldn’t take it. She died before they could even get her to the surgery.”
Even as Connie is mourning his wife, his first priority is his newborn daughter, who is currently dealing with her own health issues and is expected to spend several days, if not weeks, in the hospital.
“I’m [ignorant] on changing diapers but I’m going to learn. I’m going to be a full-time father to her,” Connie said.
The father said that once his daughter was released from the hospital, he will start to plan his wife’s funeral service. But there is also the family’s financial situation to consider.
“I’m financially not OK. This debt is like piling up and I have to bury my wife, my daughter coming into the world, it’s so high right now,” he said.
Connie’s friends started a donation on Facebook to help with the care of his daughter, the hospital bills and his wife’s burial.
So far more than $20,000 of the $40,000 goal has been raised in five days.
