A woman who went into a coma when she was pregnant was devastated when she awoke three weeks later to learn her baby had not survived.
Kerry Tellwright, 34, has shared her heartbreaking story, explaining the surprise illness that caused her spleen and liver to rupture, and nearly claimed her life.
Kerry had spent years trying for a baby with her fiancé, Craig Hill, 47. The couple had tried IVF, and had already mourned the miscarriage of twins.
So when Kerry discovered she was pregnant with little boy, Archie, she couldn’t have been more delighted.
However it all changed one morning when Kerry woke up with a sore arm. Expecting it to be nothing more than the result of sleeping funny, she tried to put it out of her mind.
‘Ten days later it was still there and I also started to feel quite sick. I just knew something wasn't right so I called the maternity ward and they told us to come in,’ she writes on her Instagram page.
On the way to the hospital Kerry had a sudden seizure, forcing Craig to pull off the road, and call an ambulance. She had suffered three seizures by the time she arrive in emergency.
‘When I got to the hospital my blood pressure was through the roof. They gave me something to slow it down and rushed me in for an emergency caesarean.
'When they opened me up my uterus was completely white from where I had bled out internally and Archie was stillborn at 8.55pm.
'When they tried to find why I'd had the bleed they discovered that my liver and spleen had ruptured.’
When Kerry awoke three weeks later it was a lot to take in.
A trip back here today brought back a huge wave of emotions, its surprising what a building can do to somebody. I Cuddled my boy here, photos that i have on my wall were taken whilst we were here. I spent a short amount of time with him here, that feeling of the overpowering love that I have for him reinforced by being here at this amazing hospital. I remember that I'm lucky to be alive, the staff at this hospital were a massive part in saving my life, they were amazing. I was there for a scan on my liver, to see how the huge clot that formed around it when it ruptured is getting on. They didn't tell me anything today but I really hope that it's starting to disperse, the last thing I want it to do is to have to have surgery again. My veins are so thin that it took them six attempts to find one to put the dye in, im like a pin cushion, another reminder of how poorly I was. I visited the intensive care unit that I was in whilst I was there, the nurses didn't recognise me until I told them my name. "You look amazing" "I can't believe how well you're doing" is what they kept saying! Something I need to tell myself next time Im hard on myself because I haven't got the energy to do something or I'm cursing because my joints ache like mad in a morning, or they can't take blood because my veins have had it. It takes time, the body takes time to repair. It was hard, really hard, being back on the unit, the sight and sound of the machines, the constant different beeps, something I will never forget and something that torments me when I try to sleep at the moment, but it's something that I wanted to do, for my mind, and to thank the nurses personally, im glad that I've done it. I know my body will be healed much quicker than I will be emotionally. The marks, scars and cuts a constant reminder of what I don't have, my beautiful boy, but you know what Archie, I would go through it all again if it meant that I could have just one more cuddle with you. I have a constant ache in my heart that I never knew was possible. I love you son, more than you will ever know. #hellpsyndrome #hellpsyndromesurvivor #babyloss #angelmummy #archiehill
’I knew, as soon as I realised Archie wasn't with me, that he had died. It was such a scary place to be in.
'I thought I was going into hospital to give birth to him so to wake up with nothing was heartbreaking.’
Archie had been kept in a cool cot, and Kerry was able to hold her baby boy’s body.
‘It was amazing. He was my baby boy. I had wanted him for so long and he was finally in my arms.'
Me and my boy, my beautiful angel. I thought long and hard about posting a picture, because I've thought who wants to see a picture of a baby that's no longer with us?? But my timelines on Instagram and Facebook are always full of lovely pictures of babies with mummies saying proud they are and how much they love their babies. Well do you know what, I absolutely feel all of that too. I'm so so proud of my baby, he was absolutely perfect in every way and there are no words to describe how much I love him. I love seeing all the pictures of babies, but I would be lying if I also said that I didn't feel a touch of jealousy, envy and bitterness when I see them, it's just so so unfair, cruel and unjust that he had to be taken from us. Why me? Why him? Questions I ask myself daily. He had to forgo his life to save mine, the internal bleeding meant that I bled out from my womb starving him of oxygen. My body trying to save my organs. This tortures me daily. The pain indescribable, a pain you will never understand unless you have lost a baby yourself. A pain i would never wish upon anybody. I know he wouldn't look like this now but it's all I have, I dont have the pleasure of photographing him every week to see how much he's changed but I love the photos that I do have, and I'm going to continue to post them because I'm proud of him and that beautiful, gorgeous, cute little face. Photo curtesy of @marcosborne who donated his time and skills to @remembermybaby I will be forever grateful to Marc for tacking the time to come and photograph my boy. #babyloss #babyboy #hellpsyndrome #hellpsyndromesurvivor #grief #babygrief #arterialline #swollenface #kidneyfailure #love #lovemybaby #sorrynotsorry
It turns out that Kerry’s shoulder pain was a symptom of liver failure, which was caused by a condition called HELLP syndrome. HELLP (haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count) syndrome can occur in expectant mothers. It’s characterised by high blood pressure, and protein in urine.
However since Kerry had neither of these early signs, she wasn’t diagnosed until it was too late. She says had she known shoulder pain was associated with liver problems she maybe wouldn’t have passed it off so readily.
She’s now determined to raise awareness of the condition that robbed her of her baby.
'If I can save one baby or stop one mum having to go through what I've been through, it'll be worth it.'
