This is the first time I met my children...I dont remember it
Hannah Maghazachi is raising money for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Charity
Story
So the picture above is not my best but apparently I look better than I did, so I am told, I don't remember this photo and yet it is the first time I met my children, you see, after giving birth I was put into a coma for 2 weeks and this photo was taken shortly after I had been woken up and this is the story I want to tell and the reason I am running.
On the 15th October I was heavily pregnant, carrying the twins I was so excited about having. Pregnancy had been a joy for me because after a long time trying, two rounds of IVF and a frozen transfer, I had finally got those two little lines and I was ecstatic! But that day, I hadn't really felt the babies move so me and my husband traipsed off to the hospital to check everything was ok. They decided to induce me early as they didn't want to take any risks. things seemed to be progressing well, but by the Tuesday (18.10) things weren't going the way they had hoped and I was rushed for an emergency C-section. "lets get these babies out" I smiled at my mum and husband as I was wheeled away and that is pretty much my last memory for several weeks because what happened next is nothing short of a nightmare.
After the surgery, I haemorrhaged. I lost over 3 and half litres of blood and had to be resuscitated with blood products, I was put into a coma and was transferred to critical care. I had developed septicaemia, a dangerous blood poisoning disease that leads your organs to fail. I was put on a ventilator as I couldn't breath by myself and my kidneys began to fail, shortly followed by my liver. On Friday (21st), a family meeting was called, the doctors told my husband, my parents and my brothers to prepare for the worst, I was going to die.
But I didn't! The hospital staff continued to treat me and I turned a corner, some say I knew I had those two beautiful babies to fight for, those that know me well would say I am just too stubborn to let a little thing like septicaemia get to me, whatever the reason, I pulled through and slowly but surely, my infection markers began to lower and my organs began to recover. They woke me up and my recovery really began.
Whilst being in the coma, my muscle had significantly deteriorated and I could not walk or move my limbs on my own, I could not weight bare on my feet and it felt as if my body and brain were no longer connected. I could not communicate clearly due to my feeding tube and problems with my throat and found it difficult to express what I wanted or needed. I couldn't even take myself to the toilet. I dribbled uncontrollably and couldn't even hold my own head up.
So how the hell am I now an active mother of twins who is planning on running 10k just 6 month on? Because of the fantastic staff at the UHCW. People keep telling me I am amazing, that my fighting spirit and determination to get better is inspirational but it isn't, what is inspirational is these people who work tirelessly to help others, who come in with a smile on their faces even in the darkest of situations, they never let me give up, believe me, I had days when all I want to do cry and wallow in self pity, out of confusion, frustration and/or anger and they listened and picked me! I had days when I wanted to give up, I didn't want to walk down the corridor 10 steps with two people on each side and a zimmer frame, knowing it would leave me exhausted, I wanted to lie in bed and feel sorry for myself but they didn't let me! They were relentlessly patient when sometimes I was nothing short of completely unreasonable. They showed continuous care and love. So when I look back to my time in hospital, I have fond memories of wonderful nurses, funny doctors and supportive and friendly physios. These people are the unsung heros without whom I would not have recovered as well or as quickly. I truly owe them my life!
So if you have made it this far, I thank you for reading, and ask you to donate whatever you can afford, to give a little back to these wonderful people, the money will be going to the critical care ward, to help with the equipment and services they need to help them to continue to provide the fantastic care that they do.
Thank you for your support :)
On the 15th October I was heavily pregnant, carrying the twins I was so excited about having. Pregnancy had been a joy for me because after a long time trying, two rounds of IVF and a frozen transfer, I had finally got those two little lines and I was ecstatic! But that day, I hadn't really felt the babies move so me and my husband traipsed off to the hospital to check everything was ok. They decided to induce me early as they didn't want to take any risks. things seemed to be progressing well, but by the Tuesday (18.10) things weren't going the way they had hoped and I was rushed for an emergency C-section. "lets get these babies out" I smiled at my mum and husband as I was wheeled away and that is pretty much my last memory for several weeks because what happened next is nothing short of a nightmare.
After the surgery, I haemorrhaged. I lost over 3 and half litres of blood and had to be resuscitated with blood products, I was put into a coma and was transferred to critical care. I had developed septicaemia, a dangerous blood poisoning disease that leads your organs to fail. I was put on a ventilator as I couldn't breath by myself and my kidneys began to fail, shortly followed by my liver. On Friday (21st), a family meeting was called, the doctors told my husband, my parents and my brothers to prepare for the worst, I was going to die.
But I didn't! The hospital staff continued to treat me and I turned a corner, some say I knew I had those two beautiful babies to fight for, those that know me well would say I am just too stubborn to let a little thing like septicaemia get to me, whatever the reason, I pulled through and slowly but surely, my infection markers began to lower and my organs began to recover. They woke me up and my recovery really began.
Whilst being in the coma, my muscle had significantly deteriorated and I could not walk or move my limbs on my own, I could not weight bare on my feet and it felt as if my body and brain were no longer connected. I could not communicate clearly due to my feeding tube and problems with my throat and found it difficult to express what I wanted or needed. I couldn't even take myself to the toilet. I dribbled uncontrollably and couldn't even hold my own head up.
So how the hell am I now an active mother of twins who is planning on running 10k just 6 month on? Because of the fantastic staff at the UHCW. People keep telling me I am amazing, that my fighting spirit and determination to get better is inspirational but it isn't, what is inspirational is these people who work tirelessly to help others, who come in with a smile on their faces even in the darkest of situations, they never let me give up, believe me, I had days when all I want to do cry and wallow in self pity, out of confusion, frustration and/or anger and they listened and picked me! I had days when I wanted to give up, I didn't want to walk down the corridor 10 steps with two people on each side and a zimmer frame, knowing it would leave me exhausted, I wanted to lie in bed and feel sorry for myself but they didn't let me! They were relentlessly patient when sometimes I was nothing short of completely unreasonable. They showed continuous care and love. So when I look back to my time in hospital, I have fond memories of wonderful nurses, funny doctors and supportive and friendly physios. These people are the unsung heros without whom I would not have recovered as well or as quickly. I truly owe them my life!
So if you have made it this far, I thank you for reading, and ask you to donate whatever you can afford, to give a little back to these wonderful people, the money will be going to the critical care ward, to help with the equipment and services they need to help them to continue to provide the fantastic care that they do.
Thank you for your support :)