A young mother claims that she almost died from a stroke only weeks after giving birth because of an infection she caught in pregnancy.
The young woman, Katie Shirley, 21, from Manchester, claims her placenta poisoned her after it was infected with bad bacteria. These bacteria went into her blood and caused death of arteries in her brain and led to the brain aneurysm.
Shirley needed emergency surgery to lower the brain pressure as the blood vessel ruptured and caused a stroke. The doctors told her she’s lucky to be alive after she collapsed on her bathroom floor few weeks after giving birth to baby Olivia who’s now 1.
What Is the Reason for the Arterial Poisoning?
The aneurysm is believed to have been triggered by an infection that weakened her arterial walls and caused a bulging vessel to form. However, they’re unclear about what the infection was.
She collapsed in her home due to the postpartum subarachnoid hemorrhage, a stroke triggered by a ruptured aneurysm.
Around 3 in 5 people who have this hemorrhage die within a two-week period.
Young mother spent two days in the ICU where the doctors focused on reduced the brain pressure and then she spent 6 days in the hospital before she was released home.
The mother, working in customer service and with two children said that she’s lucky to be alive after a brain aneurysm. She had normal pregnancy, except for anemia, but when she got to 36 weeks, she began bleeding heavily.
Her mother, Caroline, was by her side all the time and luckily, her doctors realized the need of an emergency C-section because her baby was in danger.
A Healthy Baby Is Born, but Mother Struggles
Baby Olivia was born two-and-a-half weeks earlier on December 7th, 2018 and her mommy was treated for an infection in her placenta that had already decayed.
If the doctors had waited any longer, she may not have made it because they aren’t sure how the baby was even getting nutrients from the placenta.
Despite the baby being given antibiotics and improving daily, the mother felt bad and knew there was something wrong with her body.
The Ordeal Begins
Her most difficult period began on January 27th, 2018, when Kathy fell on the bathroom floor while talking on the phone with her mother. This was her first seizure.
The next seizure happened in the hospital when a CT scan located a brain aneurysm which had ruptured. She remembers feeling as if she was going to have a panic attack-her heart was racing and all of her senses were heightened.
She immediately had surgery on January 28th to stop the bleeding. She’s been fine ever since. The young woman is thankful for the NHS.
Sharing Her Story
The young mother of two decided to share what happened to her in order to increase the awareness about all the dangers that new mommies, especially infections.
Shirley added that it’s difficult imagining her eldest daughter Esmae and the younger Olivia without their mother.
She’s a single parent and claims she could’ve lost Olivia or her own life is she didn’t push for more tests and C-section after the seizure at home.
She will now have to make brain scans every 6 months.
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