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A heartbroken widower has revealed his desperate attempts
to wake his comatose wife, who tragically died just days after giving birth.
Ryan Cosme (38) from New Zealand went from being overjoyed at the birth of daughter Grayan on 20 November 2017 to heartbroken when his teenage sweetheart, Arlene Padawag-Cosme (37), suddenly collapsed from a brain aneurysm four days later.
Arlene, who’d complained of a stiff neck and migraines, slipped into an 11-day coma before dying in hospital in December.
“Looking back, she’d often experience headaches and migraines but we never thought too much of it,” Ryan says.
“She gave birth to our beautiful baby girl and we couldn’t have been happier.
“Everything just felt right and our family felt complete.
“Four days after having the baby she’d come home and I was saying goodbye to her as I left for work.
“She told me she had a stiff neck, so I told her to rest and take care of herself but that afternoon she collapsed.
“When I rushed there from work she was awake and I thought she was going to be alright but just 30 minutes later she collapsed again.
“She fell into a coma. Doctors operated on her brain straight away but she never woke up from the surgery,” he said.
Ryan revealed how he “tried everything” to bring Arlene out of the coma, including renewing their wedding vows, christening their new-born daughter and performing an emotional serenade – all by her bedside as she lay fighting for her life.
“I stayed by her bedside for 11 days until she died. I never lost hope she might wake up.
“I did everything I could think of to wake her up. I sang our favourite songs to her and played my guitar.
“I had our daughter christened at her bedside.
“The last thing I thought of was to renew our wedding vows. I thought it might keep her fighting and keep her alive.
“I tried everything I could. But even though it didn’t wake her up, I still think it made her happy in her last days,” Ryan said.
Now the single dad of three has spoken out about the heartache of raising his two eldest daughters, Gracie (10), and Gwynnete (6), without their mom while their six-month-old baby, Grayan, is temporarily cared for by family in the Philippines.
“We were so happy when we found out we were having another baby.
“Arlene was such an amazing mother and to have three daughters was such a blessing.
“I never could have imagined anything like this would ever happen to her.”
The dad reveals his whole world came crashing down when he lost Arlene and he’s struggled to accept becoming a single dad.
“Nothing can ever prepare you for that. I didn’t know how I could raise my kids on my own.
“I sat my daughters down and explained to them they wouldn’t be seeing their mom anymore.
“We all just sat together hugging and crying.
“I told them their mom will always be in our memory and in our hearts.
“My oldest daughter then asked me, ‘What will we do if you die too, Dad?’
“I broke down after that and just kept hugging them both,” Ryan revealed.
He’s now just concentrating on being a good parent.
“I’ve just tried to focus on my job and my kids, and to be the best dad I can be to them.
“I think about Arlene every second. I miss her so much, and I always find myself tearing up at random times.
“She was such a beautiful person and her spirit lives on in my beautiful daughters.
“Every time I look at them I see their mother, and it always makes me smile.”
Source: Magazine Features
Pictures: CATERS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA
