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Preemie in a coma after ER staff leaves her in amniotic sac during surprise delivery
A mom who said she struggled for years to have a baby was thrilled when she finally got pregnant… only for numerous complications to cause an emergency which went drastically wrong.
WFAA reported that Makayla Thomas had prayed for years to become a mother, and was thrilled when she found out she was expecting. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh I’m finally pregnant!’” she recalled. “We’ve been together for 11 years.”
In June, Thomas began having abdominal pain, and was diagnosed with a kidney infection, possibly due to an untreated urinary tract infection (UTI). She visited Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, three times over two weeks, and by June 27th, was discharged by doctors, who told her all she needed was antibiotics. Two days later, at 26 weeks pregnant and with her pain not improving, Thomas decided to go somewhere else: Preston Hollow Emergency Room, a freestanding emergency room.
“I thought, I’m going to go to the emergency room, and hope they can do something about this pain and kidney infection,” she said. “Never at that moment did I think I was going through labor.”
Once at the ER, Thomas not only had abdominal pain, but vaginal bleeding. As the pain got worse, she felt like she needed to push, and delivered her baby, there in the emergency room by herself. “I was just like, ‘Oh my God! Did I push out my baby?” she said. She shared cell phone videos of what happened with WFAA.
Her baby was born en caul, or still in the amniotic sac, and rolled off the table and onto the floor. The emergency room staff offered no aid. Instead, they assumed her daughter was dead.
“It was just so nonchalant,” she recalled. “They were examining her but not attending to her medically.”
Eventually, they realized her daughter had a heartbeat after removing her from the amniotic sac, and began chest compressions. Though medical records state that her daughter, whom she named Heaven Grace, was given oxygen, none of Thomas’ videos show that.
Melinda Morris, a retired OB/GYN, told WFAA Heaven should have immediately been removed from the amniotic sac and received oxygen. Instead, she was left in the sac for an undetermined amount of time — meaning it’s not clear how long Heaven was without oxygen. Morris explained that brain damage can happen within just minutes.
“When these babies are delivered en caul with that amniotic sac around them, they’re like in a dry cleaner bag. There’s no oxygen there,” she said.
Now, Heaven is in a coma, with doctors saying it’s not clear if she’ll ever recover, or if she’s in a persistent vegetative state.
“We are just praying and praying and praying,” Thomas said. She also believes the outcome could have been different with better medical care. “I definitely do believe if they had started reviving her right away when they came in the room and saw, this could have been a lot different,” Thomas said. “I feel like they failed me.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Heaven’s medical expenses while she recovers.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Preemie in a coma after ER staff leaves her in amniotic sac during surprise delivery
A mom who said she struggled for years to have a baby was thrilled when she finally got pregnant… only for numerous complications to cause an emergency which went drastically wrong.
WFAA reported that Makayla Thomas had prayed for years to become a mother, and was thrilled when she found out she was expecting. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh I’m finally pregnant!’” she recalled. “We’ve been together for 11 years.”
In June, Thomas began having abdominal pain, and was diagnosed with a kidney infection, possibly due to an untreated urinary tract infection (UTI). She visited Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, three times over two weeks, and by June 27th, was discharged by doctors, who told her all she needed was antibiotics. Two days later, at 26 weeks pregnant and with her pain not improving, Thomas decided to go somewhere else: Preston Hollow Emergency Room, a freestanding emergency room.
“I thought, I’m going to go to the emergency room, and hope they can do something about this pain and kidney infection,” she said. “Never at that moment did I think I was going through labor.”
Once at the ER, Thomas not only had abdominal pain, but vaginal bleeding. As the pain got worse, she felt like she needed to push, and delivered her baby, there in the emergency room by herself. “I was just like, ‘Oh my God! Did I push out my baby?” she said. She shared cell phone videos of what happened with WFAA.
Her baby was born en caul, or still in the amniotic sac, and rolled off the table and onto the floor. The emergency room staff offered no aid. Instead, they assumed her daughter was dead.
“It was just so nonchalant,” she recalled. “They were examining her but not attending to her medically.”
Eventually, they realized her daughter had a heartbeat after removing her from the amniotic sac, and began chest compressions. Though medical records state that her daughter, whom she named Heaven Grace, was given oxygen, none of Thomas’ videos show that.
Melinda Morris, a retired OB/GYN, told WFAA Heaven should have immediately been removed from the amniotic sac and received oxygen. Instead, she was left in the sac for an undetermined amount of time — meaning it’s not clear how long Heaven was without oxygen. Morris explained that brain damage can happen within just minutes.
“When these babies are delivered en caul with that amniotic sac around them, they’re like in a dry cleaner bag. There’s no oxygen there,” she said.
Now, Heaven is in a coma, with doctors saying it’s not clear if she’ll ever recover, or if she’s in a persistent vegetative state.
“We are just praying and praying and praying,” Thomas said. She also believes the outcome could have been different with better medical care. “I definitely do believe if they had started reviving her right away when they came in the room and saw, this could have been a lot different,” Thomas said. “I feel like they failed me.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Heaven’s medical expenses while she recovers.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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