JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It has been a wild week for Jaguars defensive end Dawuane Smoot.
From rushing the field in London after the Jaguars’ first win of the season, to delivering his daughter at home, this will be a week the Smoot family will never forget.
“I haven’t even had time to process the emotions,” he said on Thursday morning.
On Tuesday morning, Smoot helped his wife, Aumari, deliver the couple’s second child. Dawuane’s Jaguars teammates said they aren’t surprised something like that would happen to him.
“Out of all people, it would be Smoot,” said K’Lavon Chaisson. “That is the perfect person for it to happen to. When I heard the story, I was kind of like, ‘you just BS’n, you trying to sound like a movie.”
Well, this wasn’t a story from a movie. It really happened.
On Tuesday around 4 a.m. as the couple was heading out the door for the hospital, Aumari fell. Dawuane caught her. Moments later, he delivered their daughter, Ahlani Moon, right there in the living room.
“We didn’t really have time to call 911 at all,” he said.
Dawuane said he was partially prepared for the situation because the couple had their 2-year-old son, Ahmir, through a planned natural birth at home.
“It just felt comfortable because we already did it before,” he said. “So, when she did come, we just need to make sure she is breathing.”
Dawuane was able to calmly follow directions from paramedics over the phone, but said he was caught by surprise when they told him he needed to find a shoestring
“I had no idea a shoestring could even be used for that,” Smoot said. “I was like, ‘all right, let me find some shoes.’ Good thing my shoe collection was like right next to us. So, I went to go grab some shoes and I tore it out as quick as possible. And I was kind of panicking, ‘like where should I put it, is it sterile, what should I do with it?’ And she just walked me through, ‘like clamp it six inches from the baby to make sure the blood flow is going to the baby.’
“I might need to get some new shoestrings now.”
While this whole situation was unfolding, the couple’s 2-year-old son, Ahmir, was just calming siting on the sofa throughout the event. Ahmir was most excited about the chance to ride the fire truck to the hospital.