We made it, son! How mum and unborn child survived brain haemorrhage
ACCORDING to the doctors, Emma Hawkins and her little boy Joshua-Jay really should not be here – let alone beaming with happiness.
For Mrs Hawkins suffered a catastrophic brain haemorrhage at work which nearly killed them both when she was 24 weeks pregnant.
The technical analyst said: ‘I had a thunderclap headache – a terrible pain. I can barely remember the ambulance coming.’
Doctors at Royal Derby Hospital told husband Jay, 37, that his wife had had a massive bleed on her brain and would probably die in surgery.
He said: ‘Emma wasn’t expected to live. As our unborn baby was so tiny, his chances were very bleak. I can’t describe how awful it was. One moment life was normal and I was looking forward to being a dad. The next I was facing losing not only my wife but also my child.’
But after 11 hours of surgery, doctors said they had stemmed the bleed and Mrs Hawkins was in an induced coma. Scans showed the baby was unharmed. Mr Hawkins, an architectural technician from Derby, said: ‘A day later, Emma came round. Her first words were, “Is the baby all right?” ’
Mrs Hawkins spent the rest of her pregnancy in hospital, undergoing a further operation. She said: ‘At 37 weeks, doctors decided I should have a C-section under a general anaesthetic. I had hoped for a natural delivery but they were worried about putting pressure on my head.’ JoshuaJay weighed in at 6Ib 11oz, and is now 17 months. Mr Hawkins said: ‘I’ll never forget the moment a nurse carried him out of the operating theatre and laid him in my arms.’
A month later they both came home. Mrs Hawkins said: ‘Recovering from the haemorrhage and coping with a newborn was a challenge, but he helped because I wanted to do things for him. Every time I look at JoshuaJay, I feel so lucky to be a mother.
‘I can’t thank the NHS and the marvellous doctors enough for saving our lives.’