Photo Credit: Jennifer BruseHealth
A Miracle Delivery: Mother of Triplets makes full recovery after Amniotic Fluid Embolism
Marisa Christie, age 30, was pregnant with triplets and admitted to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center (MHTW) on August 21 for a planned c-section at 33 weeks. This was her second pregnancy – she and her husband Dylan also have a four-year-old son. According to her Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist Amber Samuel, MD, it was a fairly routine delivery and all was well with the babies. However, shortly after delivery, anesthesiologist Ricardo Mora, MD said Marisa’s blood pressure bottomed out and her heart stopped. The medical team quickly called the code and began CPR.
Marisa was experiencing Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE). According to the AFE Foundation, AFE “is believed to occur when a mother suffers an allergic-like (immune) response to amniotic fluid and fetal material that enters her bloodstream during labor or shortly after delivery. It is important to note that the entrance of amniotic fluid and fetal material into the bloodstream is a normal part of the birth process and in most women, it does not cause this serious reaction. Most often an AFE involves two life-threatening complications: heart and lung failure and severe bleeding” – Marisa experienced both.
Marisa said there were many miracles that played out that day – one being that she was at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands, the only Level II Trauma Center in South Montgomery County. As a Level II Trauma Center, Marisa had immediate access to cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon Stephen Maniscalco, MD who put her on ECMO, a life-support technique that provides oxygen and blood flow to patients with severe heart or lung failure. Additionally, to stop the bleeding, affiliated gynecologic oncologist Christine Lee, MD and Dr. Samuel performed an emergency hysterectomy. Marisa was sedated and on ECMO for nearly a week to allow her heart and lungs to recover. Overall, she was in the hospital for about two weeks. While she was recovering, the triplets were busy growing and flourishing in the NICU. Charlotte was the first to go home and on September 26 Kendall and Collins were discharged and able to go home.
As the family prepared for their departure from the hospital, the triplets were dressed in baby-sized graduation robes and caps and took family photos with the doctors, nurses, and medical staff that aided in the babies’ birth and Marisa’s recovery. The staff of Memorial Hermann The Woodlands lined the halls and presented a grand celebration with clapping and cheering as the five made their way out of the hospital and into their van, finally headed home.
Watch the video below (and on YouTube here) and view the photos below of the celebration.
View more photos of the celebration on the Hello Woodlands Facebook page here.
