More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A mum who lost almost her entire body’s blood content after the birth of her baby says if it wasn’t for blood donors her sons would have been left without a mother.
Stacie Pollard, a secondary school teacher from Broadstairs, had gone into labour three weeks early and went to the QEQM Hospital in Margate.
When her labour failed to progress, medics took her into theatre and her little boy, Hudson Spencer, was born via emergency caesarean on October 10 by a team of NHS staff she describes as “amazing”.
The 32-year-old says initially all was well.
"He was healthy and I felt such a huge relief," she said.
"The midwife told me I was going to be moved to the recovery room, so could hold my baby in less than a minute.
"I watched her, my husband and newborn baby go into the recovery room – knowing I would be in there soon."
But things suddenly took a downward spiral when her uterus collapsed and she suffered a severe haemorrhage.
She said: "It was the most terrifying, traumatic event I have ever experienced in my life.
"I was moved back onto the operating table again and had a lot of medical staff around me instantly."
They rushed around her getting everything in place to perform a suture to stop the bleeding and she was put under general anaesthetic.
It was only when she came around did the mum, who has another son called Parker, realise the extent of what had happened to her.
“It turns out I had lost four (4000ml) litres of blood,” she said.
“Not one or two, which is apparently the average, but four. I’d had a ‘severe’ haemorrhage.
“An average human body holds 4.7 to 5.5 litres of blood. I lost nearly my entire body’s blood content.
“I was given four units of blood and two bags of fresh frozen plasma.”
She says she can’t thank the staff at the hospital enough for the care they gave her.
And she says she is eternally grateful to the person who donated the blood.
“If I hadn’t been given that blood, if that person hadn’t donated it, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be here to look after my boys.”
The mum wrote about her experience in full in her blog parkerandme.co.uk.
“I’d absolutely love to encourage more people to donate,” she said.
People wanting to donate can find out more or register at www.blood.co.uk.
“If you’re successful and able to donate you actually get notified by text now when your blood has been used. How amazing is that?" added Mrs Pollard.
