A woman named Gina Walker is thanking her lucky stars and counting her blessings after surviving seven days in a coma and going through a whopping 35 gallons of blood after delivering her baby girl. (OMG. Thirty-five gallons?!) People are calling her the "miracle mom," and after reading about the close call she had, I'd say that's a very fitting title.
After initially being told she'd miscarried during her pregnancy, doctors finally realized that she had a very rare condition called placenta percreta. Her placenta had implanted into the lower part of her uterus and could have invaded her bladder. And while she safely delivered her baby girl via C-section, she started hemorrhaging immediately after she was born, and that's when the entire hospital (not to mention the community) sprang into action to save her life.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons Gina was given the miracle of survival is because of the quick thinking of her husband, Dustin, before their daughter's birth. Considering that one in seven cases of placenta percreta results in death, it's a wonder that either one of them was able to think clearly before going to the hospital. I can remember being nervous and worried before giving birth -- and I had a completely normal pregnancy. I can't imagine just how scared this poor couple must have been, knowing their journey may not have a good outcome.
But Dustin wasn't taking any chances and reached out to friends of the family beforehand to make sure there was enough blood on hand if Gina should need it. They happily donated their own blood, of course, but went one step further and started passing the word around about Gina's condition. As a result, several blood drives were held all over the country to help her out. And when Dustin literally saw coolers of blood going past him in the hospital while Gina was fighting for her life, I'm sure he was so thankful that he wasn't afraid to speak up. It's amazing just how much people really do want to help, but sometimes you have to swallow your pride and be willing to ask.
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And just as amazing as the community was in supporting the Walkers -- so were all of the doctors and nurses at the hospital that day. The entire staff rallied to make sure Gina would live to see the baby girl she'd gone to such great lengths to bring into the world. They were prepared for the worst when Gina went into the operating room, so they were able to start giving her blood transfusions immediately instead of having to scramble and figure out what to do.
Gina Walker truly is a miracle mom -- and it's so wonderful that she is alive and getting to enjoy every single milestone with her daughter, who is another little miracle in herself. I can't think of a better gift after her ordeal than being able to rock her baby in her arms!
You can hear more about Gina's amazing story in the video clip below.
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Have you ever heard of placenta percreta or have you known anyone who has had it?
Image via MSNBC
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Comments 34
I've definitely heard of it. My mother had it after my sister was born, and the pregnancy was terminated because it had already begun fusing to her organs, and the placenta was deteriorated at 14-15 weeks.
It's rare, but becomes a higher risk for women who have c-sections. The odds go up with every cesarean, but nobody seems to ever hear about it. Whether it's a first time pregnancy or result of the placenta implanting on a weak uterine scar, it's horrifying.
But I can't help thinking, "how much is the hospital stay going to cost them?"
Crazy!
I wonder if a woman at church had that. She definitely lost a lot of blood and almost died. Her organs were shutting down. Not only did she and her baby make it, but she went on to have one more child. The first pregnancy was induced because her blood pressure started going up.
35 gallons of blood...that's a whole lot of blood!
I had a mild case of it when I gave birth to my 2nd, and youngest. I lost a lot of blood and the Dr was working on me for an hour after I gave birth to my son pulling pieces of the placenta from my uterus because it was stuck and ripped away from the rest of it. I was in and out of an anemic daze and couldn't even hold my son until a few hours later because I was so out of it. Now they tell me that chances are that I'll have it again and have advised me not to get pregnant again. I'm getting a 2nd opinion. I had scan after scan with my son with other complications that I had with him and this wasn't found out until I was giving birth to him. They should have found it earlier, but they didn't. Anyway, it's a very scary thing to be surprised about when you thiunk your having a relatively normal delivery. I was terrified that I was going to die because of all the blood and the way I felt. My room was spinning for a good 2, 3 hours until I got enough fluids in me and was able to come back and realize what had happened. It's a very scary thing to have.
Never heard of that condition but that's awesome she survived!!