ONE mum has shared the shock of her life after waking up with no memory of giving birth to triplets.
Marisa Christie, a 30-year-old mum from Texas, US, was pronounced clinically dead for nearly an hour after suffering a rare birth complication known as amniotic fluid embolism (AFE).
AFE occurs when amniotic fluid, which contains fetal cells and tissue, enters a pregnant person’s bloodstream and causes a severe allergic reaction.
The complication can cause breathing problems, cardiac arrest, excessive bleeding, and a rapid decline in the mother’s health – which can often be fatal.
For Marisa, who had been at the hospital for a planned cesarean, things seemed normal – until she suddenly turned grey.
”The doctors had pulled all three (babies) out. Actually, they were resting them on my stomach to do a delayed cord clamping.
”My arms flew up, and that was when my heart stopped,” she shared the incredible story with Today.
Upon awakening, her partner Dylan broke the wonderful news of their healthy triplets who had joined their son, four.
Marisa was overwhelmed: “I was absolutely terrified… How could I not remember having my babies?”
The loved-up pair had been trying for another kid for a couple of years and had started using an ovulation trigger shot.
After Marisa had her first ultrasound, the possibility of twins or even triplets was suggested.
“They were like, ‘We’re pretty sure it’s twins. There might be a third one hiding,'” Marisa recalled, admitting she “cried most of that month” at the thought of raising four kids.
Unfortunately, the pregnancy journey was a bumpy ride, as Marisa was often feeling “very sick”.
The US-based couple soon discovered that one of their triplets had a twin who hadn’t developed, requiring an in-womb procedure, reported The Mirror.
Marisa revealed: “Our baby C was sharing a sack with a twin but that twin never got a heartbeat,” and, sadly, the doctors had to remove the remains because the reduced blood flow “was putting too much stress on baby C’s heart.”
At 33 weeks, Marisa and her husband arrived at Memorial Hermann the Woodlands Medical Center North of Houston for a planned C-section, where Dr Amber Samuel, her maternal-fetal medicine physician, successfully delivered the three babies.
However, Dr Ricardo Mora, the anesthesiologist, noticed that Marisa was having seizures ans was turning ”essentially grey”.
Describing the situation as “pretty catastrophic”, Dr Mora, who knew something ”terrible” had just happened, said such cases are “80%, 85% fatal”.
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Marisa was bleeding profusely, and doctors had to rush to replace her blood as Dr Samuel tried to stem the flow by closing up the uterus.
About an hour after her had heart stopped beating, the mum was hooked up to an ECMO machine, which takes over the functions of the heart and lungs to aid recovery.
“She essentially lost what we consider her whole blood volume. We replaced her blood volume. So, for 45 minutes, she was clinically dead,” recalled Dr Mora.
While in intensive care, Marisa suffered from uncontrolled bleeding from her uterus, which led her to make the decision to remove it.
After the operation, which was very risky, the mother remained unconscious for a week under sedation, with Dr Mora visiting her on a regular basis, in hopes to see signs of improvement.
He stated: “You can do the best CPR in the world, but if you don’t get enough blood to the brain, essentially they are alive but with brain damage. I needed her to live to raise her kids. So, it was a personal thing for me.”
Fortunately, the 30-year-old began to show signs of recovery and was then taken off the breathing machine and ECMO.
But, upon waking up, Marisa found herself feeling disoriented and as if she had experienced a vivid dream throughout her pregnancy.
Meeting her newborns – named Charlotte, Kendall and Collins – for the first time felt “very surreal”.
“I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know these babies. This is very strange. They feel like they’re not real. They feel like they’re not mine. They were already over a week old by the time I had met them. … It took a little bit to get that connection with them,” Marisa bravely admitted.
However, the healthy triplets recognised their hero mum as hospital staff had placed blankets on Marisa while she was in intensive care so they could get used to her scent.
Once Marisa could finally return home, the mum-of-four spent most of her time recovering in a recliner in their living room, explaining that her core was ”completely obliterated” and she could barely move.
Now, this proud mum – whose wounds had healed nine weeks after giving birth – has embarked on a mission to spread awareness about Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) to help other parents.
“It’s rare, but it does happen. There were so many miracles that led up to me living instead of dying and we’re grateful.”
