A woman declared brain dead was kept alive for nearly two months to save her unborn child.
Karla Perez was 22-years-old and she was 22-weeks pregnant when she suffered a brain bleed, according to a report by the Washington Post. Doctors at
Methodist Health System in Nebraska kept Perez alive for 54 days in order to allow the baby to develop enough before being delivered.
On April 4, 2015 a 2 lb, 12 oz baby boy named Angel was born via Caesarean section, according to the report. Two days later, Perez died.
One of the doctors, Todd Lovgren, said in order to give Angel a chance at surviving, staff was forced to
try and prolong Karla’s pregnancy for as long as possible.”
“Karla’s family asked us to try and prolong Karla’s life and try to maintain her as long as possible for Angel’s benefit,” Lovgren said.
According to the Washington Post, the hospital said Perez had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and knew that pregnancy would be difficult. Doctors didn’t
expect to have trouble with Angel’s pregnancy, however, because Perez had given birth to a daughter three years prior.
Women with rheumatoid arthritis can run a great risk for high blood pressure (preeclampsia), according to a report by Healthline. The complications that can be caused by preeclampsia include seizures, kidney problems, or death. The Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database found that the chance of having a baby with low birth weight was greater in women with this condition.
The Washington Post reported that Perez was taken to the hospital in early February after experiencing a headache. She suffered a catastrophic intracranial hemorrhage that caused bleeding in her brain.
The hospital’s medical director, Andrew Robertson, said it was not clear why Perez had the hemorrhage, although pregnant women have a higher risk of getting them.
Angel was in the NICU for about a month after he was born and was expected to stay there for another month.
Brady Kerr from the hospital’s NICU said they were being “cautiously optimistic” with Angel and there were no signs of complications.
Perez was able to save other people by donating her liver, kidneys and heart.
