Husband appeals for support after wife gives birth, then suffers life-threatening stroke

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It seemed like everything was looking up for Calgarian Marco Martel's family — they'd just welcomed a new addition and his wife was set to acquire Canadian citizenship.
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But that fell to pieces earlier this month after his wife, Iffat Shakti, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke a week after giving birth to daughter Julia Ameera.
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Her husband said his wife's prognosis is not good, though she seemed to be recovering from the first stroke that occurred June 12 that left her in a coma.
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Their newborn daughter, fortunately, has been released from the neonatal intensive care unit at the Foothills Medical Centre and is doing well, said Martel.
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'She's mostly just missing her mom,' he said.
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Shakti, 28, remains hooked up to a breathing apparatus at the Foothills Medical Centre following the strokes for which high blood pressure contributed, said Martel.
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The anguished husband spends as much time there as he can at a time when the oldest of his two sons, aged four and one, questions what's happening.
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'He's always asking for his mom — how do you tell them their mom is in a coma in the hospital?' he said.
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He's also wondering how he'll keep his family's finances afloat as he's forced to attend to his family, which includes spending as much time as he can by his wife's side.
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The auto body detailer says he's paying loans on three rental properties, and his absence makes it difficult to find renters to pay for them.
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Shakti, he said, handled the financial end of the business, adding he's slowly learning that task, but staying positive hasn't been easy.
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Her medical condition could also dash her dreams of becoming a citizen of the country she's grown to love after arriving in Canada from her native Bangladesh in 2018.
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Shakti was scheduled to take her citizenship test this week, said Martel.
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'She loves Canada, her goal was to become a Canadian, and she always wanted to have a great life here as it's safe and a beautiful country,' he said.
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A brother-in-law from Vancouver is in Calgary to assist the family for a week, said Martel, but the dread and uncertainty remain.
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'I want her to keep on fighting — she has three kids and I need her,' said Martel.
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