Marisa Christie, a mother of four in Texas, shares her extraordinary story of survival after experiencing a rare and life-threatening complication during the birth of her triplets in August. Christie, 30, fainted several times over a 45-minute period after giving birth at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center North in Houston.
“The doctors had taken out the three (babies). They were actually resting them on my stomach to do a delayed clamping of the umbilical cord,” Christie told the Today’s program. “My arms flew up and that’s when my heart stopped.” Christie suffered an amniotic fluid embolism, a rare condition in which amniotic fluid or fetal material enters the mother’s bloodstream, often leading to catastrophic results.
According to the Mayo ClinicThis condition has a mortality rate of 80-85%. After giving birth to the babies, Christie lost consciousness and spent a week in a coma. When she woke up, she learned that she had given birth to three healthy girls, but she did not remember the birth. “My husband told me, ‘Hey, so we had the babies.’ They are healthy and great,’” Christie said.
“I was absolutely terrified… How could I not remember having my babies?” His anesthesiologist, Dr. Ricardo Mora, was instrumental in recognizing the signs of embolism. Mora explained that he had seen a similar case 15 years ago. “She (was) essentially gray. “I knew something terrible had just happened,” he said.
Christie’s maternal-fetal medicine doctor, Dr. Amber Samuel, and Dr. Mora worked together to save her life. She was placed on an ECMO machine to support her heart and lungs after she suffered massive blood loss and had no pulse for 45 minutes. “He basically lost what we consider his total blood volume.” Mora explained.
Although doctors tried to avoid a hysterectomy, severe bleeding left no choice. Despite the ordeal, Christie and her triplets made a remarkable recovery. Nine weeks later, Christie returned home and her babies were discharged shortly after.
Reflecting on her experience, Christie said Today“I feel very disconnected from who (I) was before. “I’ve gotten stronger, but I’ve also changed a lot because going through a traumatic experience like that changes the way you see things.”
Grateful for her survival, Christie added: “There were so many miracles that led me to live instead of die.” TO GoFundMe campaign organized by Christie’s brother has raised $22,545 of its $25,000 goal to help cover her medical expenses.