Friends rally behind Sask. man after wife dies during childbirth
One moment a young Saskatchewan family was ready to welcome a baby girl into their lives, then in a blink of an eye, everything changed.
On Friday, Sept. 23, Mark Burnett, 32, and his wife Megan, 33, went to the hospital in Nipawin, Sask., about 267 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
Everything was going fine with the delivery until suddenly, Megan slipped out of consciousness.
"From there they worked on Megan and they were able to give birth to the baby. Megan unfortunately did not make it," said Daniel Kasun, a close friend of the family.
He added the baby girl was airlifted to Royal University Hospital where she has since been recovering.
Hearing the news from his circle of friends, Kasun said he couldn't believe it.
"It was surreal to get news like that, and it immediately goes to 'okay, what type of supports can we give to both Mark and Mark and Megan's families and move forward from there', is really where my mind went," Kasun told CBC News.
Kasun and Burnett were childhood friends growing up together and playing hockey in North Battleford. He said Megan and Mark married in 2011, describing the young couple as fun-loving and caring parents. Mark has been an RCMP officer for the past eight years, previously stationed in Loon Lake and Melfort, Sask.
While the family still isn't sure what happened to Megan, friends and family rallied around Mark, his newborn Autumn and his three-year-old daughter Brynlee, by setting up a GoFundMe page.
The goal was to raise $10,000 but support has gone well above the call. In just over two days, the page raised more than $60,000.
Kasun said the response took his breath away.
"It's incredible the way everyone has come together to support Mark and Megan's family. This really got put up just as a way for individuals to show support the family through this trying time," Kasun said.
"In talking with Mark we know he's feeling really supported and beyond grateful for the messages and all the support that's come through, beyond anything he would have imagined."
Kasun said he believes the money collected from the page will go towards covering any and all medical and travel expenses, as well as support for Mark in raising his two daughters.
Since Friday Mark has been beside his newborn daughter, hoping she pulls through. Mark also made changes to Autumn's name, something Kasun said he knows his wife would've appreciated.
"Mark decided to change her middle name to Desiree from Rose and that was Megan's middle name, as a way to commemorate her mother," Kasun said.
