Marisa Christie and her husband were shocked and then excited to learn that they were pregnant with triplets. They had been trying to have another child for two years, so they were eager to meet the three little ones. On the day of Christie's C-section, after they were born, something went terribly wrong, as her body started to suffer severe hemorrhaging. Turns out, she suffered a rare and life-threatening complication named amniotic fluid embolism.
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Following the birth of their first son, Marisa and Dylan Christie tried to have a second child for two years. Eventually, they hit the jackpot, but they didn't expect to hit it the way they did. Her first ultrasound revealed they were pregnant with triplets. "They were like, 'We're pretty sure it's twins. There might be a third one hiding,'" Christie told TODAY.com. "I was in complete shock."
One of the triplets even had an undeveloped twin attached that had to be removed. Nevertheless, the couple was ecstatic and ready to welcome the triplets into their lives. At 33 weeks pregnant, Marisa and Dylan arrived at the Memorial Hermann the Woodlands Medical Center North of Houston hospital on August 21. They successfully delivered the triplets, but something unexpected was beginning to happen.
Amniotic Fluid Embolism
"The doctors had pulled all three (babies) out. Actually, they were resting them on my stomach to do a delayed cord clamping," Marisa Christie recalls. "My arms flew up, and that was when my heart stopped." Dr. Ricardo Mora, the anesthesiologist, noticed what was happening. "She (was) essentially gray," Mora said. "I knew something terrible just occurred."
While worried, Mora knew exactly what was happening with Christie. She was having an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE). Dr. Mora had seen a previous patient undergo the same complication 15 years ago, so he was quick to identify it. "It's pretty catastrophic. When it occurs, it's about 80%, 85% fatal," he said.
AFE is a very rare complication that happens in about 1 in every 40,000 deliveries, according to the Cleveland Clinic. AFE happens when a mother's blood reacts to the amniotic fluid if both fluids mix. This could lead to severe complications such as blood or lung failure, becoming fatal.
Fortunately for Christie, Dr. Mora was able to summon medical staff members to assist her and stabilize her. However, she had to be put into an ECMO machine as she had lost too much blood. "She essentially lost what we consider her whole blood volume," Dr. Mora said. "We replaced her blood volume. So, for 45 minutes, she was clinically dead."
Recovering
Further complications forced doctors to perform a hysterectomy as other medications failed to control Christie's hemorrhaging. Following her procedures, Christie spent one week unconscious, with Dr. Mora closely monitoring her and seeing that "she got stronger and stronger."
When Marisa Christie woke up and was confused at first. Then, she felt the pain of her wounds. "The pain that I felt, I'm like there's no way this is not real," Christie said. "That's the first very coherent thought I remember having."
Christie then got to meet her triplets. All of them were completely healthy but had to spend one week at the neonatal intensive care unit to gain weight. "My husband was like, 'Hey, so we had the babies. They're healthy and great,'" Christie said. "I was absolutely terrified. ... How could I not remember having my babies?"
Despite her health, she got to know and love her children: Charlotte, Kendall, and Collins. They were acquainted with their mom, though, as doctors ensured the babies met their mom by swaddling them all with blankets and doing skin-to-skin while Christie was unconscious.
A long recovery process ensued, with Christie fully recovering after 9 months. She is now sharing her story to raise awareness of AFE and its risks. She is grateful that she survived the complication and now believes she is a much stronger woman than she was before.
