A Patient Success Story
Winter 2002
During the summer of 2001, Colleen and Edward
M. of Pilesgrove, New Jersey were preparing for
the birth of their sixth child. Their baby was
due in October and the pregnancy was normal,
as were Colleen’s previous five pregnancies.
However, in early July, Colleen went into premature
labor. Colleen, a part-time unit secretary in
the emergency room of a local hospital, was instructed
to stop working and stay on bedrest for a short
period. “The doctors and my concern was
that of the baby’s health. Since premature
babies can have a lot of complications and health
issues later on after birth, we wanted to avoid
delivering early,” Colleen said.
Although there were no specific medical concerns
for her health, Colleen, who recently turned
40, said “since I was an older mother having
my sixth child, my doctor did inform me that
at this stage, my blood vessels in the birth
canal would be thinner. Therefore, I would have
a higher chance of bleeding more than a younger
woman that had less births.” Colleen, who
is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, would not
accept a blood transfusion.
“Other than that, there were no real risks
or concerns about my pregnancy,” she said.
On September 25, 2001, Colleen delivered a boy,
Caleb. “Despite being born with the umbilical
cord wrapped around his neck twice - which may
have been the crux of my threatening to deliver
early - he was born a healthy 6 lbs. 4 ozs. and
in excellent condition. There was nothing unusual
about my labor and delivery,” she added.
Colleen said, “after the baby was born
everything seemed fine.” While Colleen
nursed her new baby, a nurse checked her blood
clotting ability. “At this point, the nurse
mentioned that she needed to get the doctor because
a trickling of blood kept flowing.” Upon
examination, the doctor determined that there
was bruising which was causing the clotting problem
on the right side of her birth canal/uterus.
Colleen was taken in for emergency surgery to
repair the broken blood vessels. “Things
must have went down hill from there very quickly,
because I do not remember anything else after
being given the anesthesia,” Colleen said.
The surgeons tried unsuccessfully to suture
and pack the broken vessels. Her hemoglobin continued
to drop. Colleen was continuing to experience
severe blood loss.
Because her condition was worsening, alternative
treatment was needed immediately. Edward contacted
a minister from their local congregation, who
referred them to a member of the Hospital Liaison
Committee (HLC). HLC members assist Jehovah’s
Witnesses with legal and hospital issues involving
blood. Edward was then referred to the Center
for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Pennsylvania
Hospital.
Colleen was transferred to Pennsylvania Hospital
the same day as her baby’s birth. Her hemoglobin
was 3.0 upon admittance. Normal hemoglobin for
a woman should be between 12 - 16 g/dL. The surgeon’s
goal was to stop the bleeding. Interventional
radiology was consulted and she was immediately
taken to the operating room for a procedure called
embolotherapy. Embolotherapy is a minimally invasive
or so-called “key-hole” surgical
procedure in which a blocking agent is delivered
into the targeted blood vessel, to inhibit or
block blood flow to a tumor, or to minimize blood
loss during surgery.
“I had several operations performed microscopically
instead of with incisions. The doctors were sewing
up the vessels to help stop the bleeding,” she
stated. “They said I had a condition called
DIC (Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation),
which is excessive bleeding.”
Colleen spent the next three weeks in intensive
care at Pennsylvania Hospital. The Malone family
was informed that her condition was still very
grave due to her low hemoglobin. “I lost
my ability to move my hands, legs and arms. I
developed pneumonia. I was catheterized and on
oxygen the whole time.” Her physicians,
including Dr.
Patricia Ford, a hematologist, prescribed
an iron treatment along with a weekly regimen
of erythropoietin to build up her blood.
Slowly, her blood count started rising and she
started to recover. Soon, she was able to move
and sit up. Then, baby Caleb, who was discharged
two days after his birth, was now able to visit
his mother in the hospital. On October 12, 2001,
Colleen finally went home with an 8.1 hemoglobin.
Colleen said that upon
returning home, she started nursing Caleb right
away and she had no complications at all. “The
doctors gave me a clean bill of health,” she
said.
Colleen expressed tremendous gratitude toward
the staff and physicians at Pennsylvania Hospital
and the Center for Bloodless Medicine & Surgery.
“I truly appreciated the expert medical
care I received from the doctors and nurses.
I especially want to thank them for their dedication
to their work and their patients. I particularly
want to thank the surgeons at Pennsylvania Hospital
for their expert care. It was because of their
expertise that I am still here despite the gravity
of my situation,” she said.
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