A MUM who ‘died twice’ during a traumatic birth claims to remember the moment doctors tried to restart her heart.
Keeley Wilson, 36, recalls the ECG monitor flatlining and hearing the long beep while the surgeon was cutting into her to perform a C-section.
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Her next memory is seeing the face of the anaesthetist who was performing chest compressions – before her heart stopped again.
She came round a second time to hear newborn Sophia crying – but had suffered broken ribs during the attempt to restart her heart.
Despite tests, doctors were never able to say precisely why she had two cardiac arrests.
But the ordeal left her with PTSD, anxiety, flashbacks and nightmares.
Read more on cardiac arrest
Keeley, from Greater Manchester, who works as a travel consultant and owns a business decorating Christmas trees, said: “I think it’s fair to say I actually died twice.
“My last memory was feeling so sick, then seeing the line go flat, hearing that long beep, and everyone hitting buttons.
“Then I remember the anaesthetist standing over me, saying my name over and over.
“I saw her face in my sleep for about six months because I had nightmares about this.”
Sophia, now three, was born weighing 7lb 12oz at 10:18 am on May 18, 2021, after an uncomplicated pregnancy.
Keeley had an elective c-section because she’d had an emergency c-section when her first daughter, Mya, now 14, was breached.
As the surgeon was cutting her tummy open, she felt an overwhelming urge to be sick.
What is a near death experience?
A near death experience (NDE) is classified as a life-transforming experience that can occur under extreme conditions in which no sensory experiences should be possible, medics at the University of Virginia state.
These conditions could include trauma, ceasing of brain activity, deep general anaesthesia or cardiac arrest, they said.
These experiences can differ from one person to another and in many cases, the experts said patients having an NDE will feel very comfortable and free of pain.
You might also experience a sensation of leaving the body, with some being able to see their physical body while floating above it.
Others may experience their mind functioning more clearly and rapidly than usual.
Then, she saw the ECG line flatten on the screen and heard a long beep, which signals a loss of heartbeat.
She was out for around two minutes, then lost consciousness again and woke to hear her baby cry.
Her heart had stopped again, she said, but she didn’t know how long for.
She thinks they used a defibrillator to restart her heart and give her adrenaline, and she believes she was in the theatre for just over two hours.
Keeley was given an ECG and a chest x-ray and told she had fractured ribs from being given chest compressions.
She went home the next day and said she struggled with pain and trauma for months.
“I was in so much pain afterwards,” she said.
“I could have managed the c-section, but the broken ribs were agony.
“It felt pretty early to be discharged, especially because I was still in shock.
“I couldn’t move – I had to sleep propped up for about two months because of the pain in my chest.
“I couldn’t lift my baby and it even hurt to have her lay on my chest – that made me so sad.
“I just wanted to cuddle her and couldn’t – that made me feel like a failure – and I worried in case we didn’t bond.
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“The first time I could pick her up and hug her felt amazing.
“Thankfully, we have a really strong bond: if anything, I think this has made us even closer.”
She said she met with medics weeks after her birth but no one could explain why her heart had stopped beating.
Keeley’s GP referred her to the patient advice and liaison service (PALS), but she said she didn’t get any more answers.
She said: “I had PTSD from this. I was emotionally traumatised for about six months.
“I’ve never had any other mental health problems, but this gave me real anxiety and flashbacks.
“I still feel confused.
“I can accept that it’s happened and that I’ve moved on, but when I think about this, I still feel the shock.
“Not knowing how it happened meant it’s been much more complicated to put it behind me – I’d still love to know.
“If this has happened to anyone else, I’d love to hear from them.
“The midwives, my GP, and the anaesthetist all said they didn’t know how that could just happen to me.
“Everyone just seemed so shocked.
“All I’ve been told is that ‘it’s just one of those things’.
“I still can’t work out how to feel about it.”
How to give CPR to an adult
A sudden cardiac arrest is the immediate loss of all heart activity.