Natalia B.

On September 2016, we found out that I was pregnant with our first child (have been trying for 3 years). January 12, 2017, I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix and had a cerclage done (a procedure were they sew your cervix) to make sure the baby didn’t come early. At 27 weeks, my water broke and after spending 3 days at the hospital, had a ultrasound done and we saw on the monitor that there was no heartbeat. A couple of hours later, I was induced and had to deliver my baby girl naturally.

During the delivery, my lungs were already filling up with fluid. As soon as she came out, they rushed me to the ICU were they tried to do everything they can to help my lungs while the infection (E. Coli) spread throughout my body, making my organs shut down, creating a sepsis shock . (Sepsis and Pregnancy & Childbirth) While they were trying to put a tube to help with the breathing, I had a heart attack (Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or more commonly known as a broken heart syndrome), they reanimated me for 15 minutes and by the grace of God they revived half of my heart. I was then put into a coma for 5 days. The doctors were not sure if I was going to wake up and if by some miracle I did, they could not guarantee that I would ever be the same.

I did wake up, spent 3 weeks total in the hospital without any major complications except that I have chronic pain in my body (mostly bone pain) and the obvious were I have to pay real close attention to what I eat in order to ease the kidneys. I am a survivor.