Pregnant Mom Gives Birth, But 3 Months Later The Unexpected Happens

After getting pregnant with her fourth child, Danielle knew she had to be careful in her pregnancy as she was a Marfan syndrome sufferer. However, no one expected what unfolded next, putting the mother and baby in grave danger, forcing surgeons to make a life or death decision.

Monroe, North Carolina native Danielle became pregnant with her fourth child in 2016 and the pregnancy seemed to be running smoothly in the first trimester. All was well until the unimaginable happened.

Danielle was already a mother to three other children and luckily did not come across these pains when she was carrying them. This made the situation even more confusing as her past pregnancies had been ok and her doctors had given the go-ahead to have another child. However, they were completely wrong in their assessment and after getting the green light, Danielle went ahead with her plans, completely unaware of the near-death experience she was about to go through.

On a February day in 2017, Danielle was going about her daily routine until she started feeling a sharp, severe pain in her chest. She had no idea what it was but the intensity grew and it became too much to handle. Danielle’s main concern was her unborn baby and what these pains would do to her fetus. She tried to take deep breaths and work through the pain but nothing was helping her. She needed medical attention.

After calling her family and explaining that she was in excruciating pain, they immediately called 911 and had an ambulance turn up to her house, allowing her to receive assistance from professionals. After seeing the expecting mother clutching her chest in agony, the paramedics knew that had to take her to the hospital. They knew something was not right and they had to send her for an examination to check that her baby was unharmed.

Upon arriving to the emergency department, Danielle was given numerous tests which soon revealed that this problem was a lot more serious than everyone had anticipated. As it turned out, Danielle had Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. The most serious complications of the syndrome involve the heart and the aorta. The medical condition was a big enough of an issue for Danielle, and therefore it was even more problematic for the baby she was carrying.

When a person has Marfan syndrome, they have an increased risk of mitral valve prolapse and aortic aneurysm which has the potential to be life threatening. The condition is centered around connective tissue and because the tissue is found within many different parts of the body, it can affect a number of different areas. Nevertheless, the most fatal parts it can affect is the heart and lungs which can stop circulation. Danielle was in serious danger.

There was worse news for Danielle as there is no cure for Marfan syndrome and sufferers have to deal with the condition for the rest of their lives. It is said that 1 in 3,000 to 10,000 individuals around the world have the medical condition, meaning it is quite rare and not much has been done in science to develop a cure for it. Moreover, 75% of Marfan syndrome sufferers inherited the condition from their parents meaning that even if the baby was to be saved, it may contract the condition.

People who suffer from Marfan syndrome are said to be at 250 times more likely to contract aortic dissection which is caused by a tear in the inner walls of the aorta. This then allows blood to flow between the layers of the artery’s walls and create two separate channels, however when there is a tear, one half will continue to pump blood while the other is held, thus causing it to eventually burst. This is what doctors were concerned about.

Danielle’s pain was not over exaggerated and upon assessment, it was seen that the main artery to her heart was torn. Joseph T. McGinn, MD, chair of cardiovascular and thoracic said that “she had ruptured her main artery called the aorta, and without that there is no circulation to all of the main organs of the body.” The longer the doctors left it, the more Danielle and her baby’s life was at stake and they knew they had to do something immediately.

After hooking up the pregnant woman to a number of different intravenous and giving her some strong pain medication, the doctors assessed the state she was in and how they would go about saving the baby. However, some were not as optimistic as others due to seeing the terrible condition she was in. Dr. McGinn observed that she “was practically in the process of actively dying, within I would say minutes”. The shocking analysis left everyone praying for the mother and baby.

In other cases with Marfan syndrome, patients who had had their main arteries cut off went in for immediate surgery to save their life and make sure the circulation was put back in place. However, Danielle’s situation was different as she was heavily pregnant and instead of having one life threatened, there were two precious lives hanging by a thread. Danielle was not conscious to tell doctors what to do so they had to made a decisive decision fast.

Doctors have many laws and ethical codes to abide by and this is why their decision became incredibly problematic. Usually, they would go ahead and make the mother’s life the most important one to save but the doctors at the Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute at Carolina’s HealthCare System saw the struggle the fetus was in. From this the doctors considered the idea of going in to save both lives simultaneously, rather than just Danielle’s.

Dr. Joseph McGinn spoke about the damage that Marfan syndrome had on Danielle’s baby, stating “you can imagine when theres no circulation to the mother’s organs then of course there’s no circulation to the baby’s organs as well”. The doctors were also worried about the physical stress the medical emergency was having on both mother and baby. They didn’t know whether either would survive, even if the surgeons did decide to go in and attempt to save them.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Jeko Madjarov said that “The only chance you have to save both lives is to do the procedure at the same time”. Attempting to save both mother and baby was a risky decision but doctors discussed and planned how they would execute the surgery. Nevertheless, the high risk surgery had a very low success rate which led Dr. McGinn to say, “there was a good chance that this poor baby would not have had a mother”.

Dr Jeko Madjarov continued “Danielle’s body was shutting down, and we knew we had to work together to save two lives. The gold standard of treating aortic dissection is circulatory arrest, which is a surgical technique that stops blood circulation.” He went on to say that there was only one solution explaining “Danielle’s son needed blood flow in order to survive. The only way to save Danielle and her son was to perform open-heart surgery and deliver Danielle’s son essentially at the same time.”

The doctors explained the severity of the situation and how they were dealing with something that was out of the ordinary. They said, “These surgeries are conventionally performed separately, but we knew there wasn’t enough time. We were also confident that we were going to be successful. So, four teams worked together to save two lives.” With a little bit of luck on their side, the doctors prepared themselves for the surgery ahead, and hopes were high.

After taking Danielle into the operating room, a team of 15 nurses and surgeons started to perform open heart surgery on the expecting mother and tried to regain circulation for the baby too. After working tirelessly for six hours, doctors miraculously turned Danielle’s situation around. Against all odds, the incredible doctors defied the 1% survival rate for the surgery and even delivered Danielle’s baby. Dr. McGinn was delighted with the progress and said “now this kid has a real chance at life.”

The incredible work of the doctors coming together made for a successful surgery. They were all elated that they were able to deliver the baby via C-section and stabilize Danielle altogether. One doctor said, “We had to act very quickly and work with incredible teamwork to get her to the point where we could have a patient at the end.” Dr. McGinn added, “What amazes me is how our teams worked so well together.” However, there was more to be done.

Due to the severity of the situation, Danielle was unable to meet her newborn baby upon his safe arrival by doctors. The road to recovery looked to be long and difficult for the new mother of four. Despite the fact that her organs were now functioning normally, her body had gone through a huge amount of distress and it needed to go through the proper recovery process. Doctors were confident that with time, she would be ok.

Part of the recovery process was regaining her strength and coordination. Dr. McGinn was confident that with the intense help, she would get there in the end. “She will get very aggressive rehabilitation and occupational therapy and so on to get her back to normal and to 100 percent. There is nothing that is going to block her from getting to 100 percent at this point, we’ll get there I’m very confident of that.” But progress had not been made just yet.

Dr. Heather Bane, Danielle’s OBGYN spoke about timeline of Danielle’s pains at home to her arriving at the hospital and then having open heart surgery. She stated that had she lived just slightly farther away from the hospital, she probably wouldn’t have survived. In the United States, there have been many incidents where patients in life threatening situations have not made it due to there being no hospitals close to their home, leading many to petition for the greater distribution of health services.

When Danielle’s baby was born, she was not conscious to meet him and was in a bad condition after her life saving surgery. As a result, doctors couldn’t risk allowing the mother to meet her baby for sickness repercussions. “Babies are also more susceptible to infections and they receive routine vaccinations at the two and fourth month marks. Our care team recommended that it was safest for the mother’s and baby’s health and well-being to limit exposure.”

Danielle’s newborn son also suffered from issues as he was premature and had to spend a few days in the neonatal intensive care unit. The newborn baby was named KV, after his father, and was suffering from a lack of oxygen, so doctors had to carefully monitor him. However, after the initial help from the nurses, the baby was discharged and free to be taken home to his family. But the baby’s mother was still being held in hospital.

It took a long time for Danielle’s condition to become stable and then successfully complete severe rehabilitation but she got there in the end. After 111 days in the hospital, Danielle was finally able to meet her son KV. Although the baby was not a newborn when they first met, the unconditional love was there nonetheless and she was so grateful to the doctors for saving her and her baby’s life and finally having that special first meeting with KV.

When Danielle finally had strength in her arms to hold her baby, it was a beautiful reunion which was all caught on film. She said of the special moment “I’m glad that i got to hold him for the first time.” Speaking about the doctors help, Danielle was incredibly grateful and said “I’m glad that I’m here and I thank Dr. Madjarov and the team, along with God, for saving my life.” It was an incredible moment for both mother and baby as well as all the doctors at Carolinas HealthCare System.