GRIEVING WIFE
November 2012. Louise had three children – including twins – from earlier relationships. Terry had four and Xander was to be their first child together.
But as Louise awaited a planned caesarean, Terry was rushed into hospital on November 22 with excruciating stomach and back pain.
An X-ray suggested the cause could be kidney stones.
It turned out to be more serious – an incarcerated hernia which burst through his stomach and bowel and into his chest, causing fluid on the lungs. “It had started to suffocate him,” said Louise.
TERRIFIED
He needed emergency surgery and by the time Louise was admitted on November 30 Terry lay unconscious and hooked up to machines in intensive care.
On the morning of her scheduled caesarean, medics woke Terry so that Louise could speak to him.
She says: “I asked him if he still wanted to call our baby boy Xander. He could barely speak, but managed to say ‘ Yes’.
“I held his hand and told him I was having the baby that day – and that everything was going to be OK.
“Inside, I was terrified, but I wanted to stay strong for Terry and for my baby.”
The caesarean went fine f but b Louise was shattered as nurses placed Xander in her arms. She explained: “I knew it was supposed to be a joyful moment.
“But I was petrified that I was losing Terry. I looked into Xander’s eyes and he looked just like his dad.
“It was too much to take. I was holding my beautiful baby son, while my husband lay unconscious.
“I remember crying and feeling so angry and upset – everything was overtaken by what was happening to Terry.”
The following days still haunt Louise and she blames the hospital for not identifying Terry as being at risk of a blood clot. He spent 13 days in bed after his op.
He wasn’t prescribed blood thinning medication – nor assessed for risk of deep vein thrombosis.
Medics also failed to carry out a venous thromboembolism assessment (VTE) on Terry’s admission to hospital.
In the end he was killed by a huge 8in blood clot that travelled from his left leg to his heart and caused a fatal attack. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS
He smiled at first but then shouted... it was the last thing he ever said to me LOUISE HICKSON ON TAKING BABY SON TO SEE HIS DAD