Lifeless Mom Regains Pulse After Twins Born

Miracle? Lifeless Mom Regains Pulse After Twins Born
Friday, December 26, 2008




SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento family is experiencing its own Christmas miracle after doctors performed emergency surgery to save twins when they thought the mother was dying of a heart attack.

Theresa Fuavai-Fatu's heart stopped while she was at Mercy General Hospital in early November after complaining of having trouble breathing.

The 40-year-old mother was just 29-weeks pregnant and was not due until late January.

Without a pulse, she underwent an emergency Caesarean section, with doctors delivering a boy and a girl. As the obstetrician was closing the incision, the mother suddenly regained her pulse and opened her eyes.

Dr. Stephen Rossiter, the cardiac surgeon who treated the mother, says he has seen other attempts to free babies from an apparently dying mother during 40 years of practice — but never one when the mother and babies survived.

The mother and twins, named Marley and Myracle, are doing well. The father, pro wrestler Sam Fatu, speaking to the Sacramento Bee this week, said the three are his walking Christmas tree."




I think that the operative word in the first sentence here is "dying", meaning that she was NOT dead. There are a LOT of unanswered questions here and if I was that woman, I would be making it my primary objective to find the fuck out. WHY are they doing ANYTHING other than emergency treatment for a heart attack? Why not the paddles? Where was the adrenaline injection? Why not bag her to keep her oxygenated to minimize brain damage and other cell death? Why is a 40 year old having baybees anyway? I mean REALLY. Then, without a pulse, he goes on and makes the cut and I wonder if he even gave her a local anesthesia, I doubt it. Then he delivers two kyds, lolly gags around for a few more minutes while she lay there presumably without a pulse, then starts sewing her up like he was at a quilting bee, no rush here now that "the chyyldren" are okay. It was a complete stroke of luck that this woman survived at all. The horrific pain of being operated on without anesthesia PROBABLY worked as well as the paddles could have to jolt her back away from the bright light.

Maybe everything wasn't accurately reported, but it looks to me like they put the potential lives of the unborn over that of the mother's life and failed to do everything medically possible to save that woman.,I hope that these people don't let the "miracle" of these precious gifts from God overshadow the fact that this appears to be BLATANT malpractice. You can bet your ass that if one of the twins has any damage to it, THEN they will get mad and sue. Moomie nearly dies though, "How tragic!!!!! two little children COULD have been without a moomie", never mind the woman could have been deader than a door nail. brain damaged, and/or paralyzed. "Marley and Myracle", sheesh.

Nothing surprises me in this kid-centric world.

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kidlesskim
The horrific pain of being operated on without anesthesia PROBABLY worked as well as the paddles could have to jolt her back away from the bright light.

Agreed! They basically didn't give a shit about her, only the pweshus baybees. Such typical breeder bullshit.

And Marley like in the dog movie? And Myracle? If that's the girl, then she'll be a stripper for sure.

Hello,
this is my first post on this board, though I am reading here since several months and find it great that there are a FEW reasonable people in the world. Here in Germany, CF-ness as a conscious lifestyle is not yet established or even known. I did not dare to post because of my bad english But in this case I want to say my opinion (I am physician and becoming anaesthesiologist):
Not ANY doctor in the whole world would do such bullshit like scheduling or completing a sectio in the case of a heart stop. They will do CPR! Nothing else! Even in a chyyyylllld-centric world!
I think the whole report is overloaded of unawareness, sensation greed and sentimental gossip. It could have if necessary a true core, but no more else (evtl. there was a short time of bradycardia when the gyns pulled the peritoneum or sth. like that).
Journalists are in most of all cases complete medical laymen and in this chyyyyyllllld-centric society they shit out idiotic stories like these, knowing they will get attention for it...

Quote
Muechri
Hello,
this is my first post on this board, though I am reading here since several months and find it great that there are a FEW reasonable people in the world. Here in Germany, CF-ness as a conscious lifestyle is not yet established or even known. I did not dare to post because of my bad english But in this case I want to say my opinion (I am physician and becoming anaesthesiologist):
Not ANY doctor in the whole world would do such bullshit like scheduling or completing a sectio in the case of a heart stop. They will do CPR! Nothing else! Even in a chyyyylllld-centric world!
I think the whole report is overloaded of unawareness, sensation greed and sentimental gossip. It could have if necessary a true core, but no more else (evtl. there was a short time of bradycardia when the gyns pulled the peritoneum or sth. like that).
Journalists are in most of all cases complete medical laymen and in this chyyyyyllllld-centric society they shit out idiotic stories like these, knowing they will get attention for it...

That crossed my mind Doc, but there were several other similar articles and none mentioned any lifesaving measures (for the mother) prior to the emergency c-section. It seems like it would have sensationalized the story more and been considered even MORE of a "miracle" if they had done everything medically possible first, exhausted every measure to resuscitate the woman, and THEN she "came back to life" after the twins were born. So, if they did all of that, why not report it? If the medical team actually did make every effort to save the woman, then this is irresponsible journalism that belongs in The National Enquirer, rather than in mainstream news reporting. I truly hope that this was a case of bad journalism and not bad medical care, I really do. As for your not posting because of "bad English", don't give it a second thought. There are plenty of us who were born into English speaking countries and we have problems with written and/or spoken English too. So, POST AWAY!

(YAWNS in boredom)

Yes, what's most important here is the fact that the shitlings lived.

For those who don't recognize me from other boards I'm an ER and flight nurse. My job requires me to maintain certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitation. I also carry Trauma Nurse Core Provider, Prehospital Trauma Life Support , American Heart Association Advanced Cardiac Life Support Instructor , and Paramedic Instructor certifications.

American Standards of Care in a cardiac arrest of a pregnant woman focus initially on saving the mother to save the fetus. An emergent C Section require a fetus to be beyond 22 weeks gestation and time of apnea and pulseless be approximately 4 minutes. (AHA 2005 ACLS standards) . The bottom line is that, if the mother is in full cardiac arrest, and there is no spontaneous return of circulation with in four minutes a c section is the next course of treatment. This is to maximize the survival potential of both fetus and mother.

What also showed in the studies that established this standard is the post c section the mother's cardiac output often improved immediately (hence in effect treating the causes of the arrest). The cardiac arrest in this event may not have been a heart attack - it may have been the result of many pregnancy related maladies one of which may have been to much pressure on the Vena Cava. The c section would have reduced that pressure allowing for adequate blood return to the heart.

As for the paddles, they are used only for a ventricular fibrillation or symptomatic tachycardia arrhythmia and are used within the first seconds. The protocol under the 2005 standards is with V fib to shock at 150 joules with a biphasic or 360 joules with a monophasic defibrillator once, CPR for 2 minutes and give either 1 mg 1:10,000 epinephrine (adrenaline) IV or Vasopressin 30 IU IV. Recheck pulse. If the rhythm remains a V fib repeat shock. At three minutes repeat epi. At four minutes recheck. None of this would end up in the news.

In this scenario, at four minutes members of resuscitation team would first deliver the next shock then simultaneously; intubate the patient, give lidocaine IV 1mg/kg or amioderone IV150 mg bolus and continue CPR.. The OB team would do the c section.

The bottom line is the reporter is completely clueless. A c section is not done till a significant amount has been done and failed. It's only after a failure to return to spontaneous circulation has happened that a c section is done with the hope that the fetus can be saved and the mother have enough of an improvement in cardiac output that she can also be saved.

Another thing the reporter never mentions is where did the trouble breathing come from? Was it a symptom of a pregnancy induced process like pre eclampsia or pregnancy induced hypertension? Did she go into a flash pulmonary edema related to hypertension? If it was this scenario - then a c section would be necessary to save the life of the mother fetus be dammed. If the mother is over 35 these are significant risks.

There is to little information here to make any assumptions outside of, who is Sam Fatu and why is a 40 year old having babies?

Thanks for the posts from our medical members. Very interesting. Looks like this story was more about sensationalism than anything. Naming one of the kyds Myracle is just gag worthy!

Boo fucking hoo. This slag is way too old to have a shiting. I doubt she actually died on the table or whatever. She's probably milking this for all she is worth. To be honest I don't give a shit if baby goes, Moo goes, or they both go. This sounds like a bit of attention whoring to me.