The Day I almost Died

Wow, when I say it that way I still have to cringe.


In March 1980 two weeks after the birth of my daughter, a friend of mine made us a wonderful home cooked meal for dinner.

She was cleaning up the kitchen when I went to the rest room and I had started bleeding. Being a first time mother, I didn't know if this was unusual or not, so I called her name and ask her to come to the bath room.

She was a surgical tech and the minute she saw what was going on she instructed my husband to take me to the emergency room. And She was stuck with my two week old baby, until my mother-in-law came and got her.

They admitted me into the hospital on the opposite wing as OB and were monitoring
my bleeding. I was passing huge clots and as the nurse was cleaning me, I told her here is another one. I felt it leave and she said "no, there isn't" about that time it came out and she saw that I was telling the truth.

She went to call the doctor and immediately when he checked me decided he would have to do an emergency D&C to try and stop the bleeding.

The proceeded to put me onto the gurney to take me to surgery. She opened the door to the OB floor and a nurse stated, "You can't come thru here the babies are out. You have to use the other elevator". Her response was, "Can't, Don't have a choice I must get to surgery as fast as possible, We have no time to waste".

By then I had lost enough blood that I really didn't care anymore. Getting into surgery, they ask "How much have you had to eat tonight?" They wanted to know how much stuff they could give me to put me out. My answer was, "Tons, Miller cooked for us tonight." "Oh, My God, Miller cooked for her tonight," she stated and you know how Miller Cooks, we can't give her any more then we have to."

Next thing I remember is when I came 1/2 way out of the anesthetic, and this nurse is litterly slapping the side of my face and saying, "Mrs. Coleman wake up, surgery is over, Wake up Verna" And again she slapped my face. She slapped hard enough that I was about to retort "Why the crap are you hitting my face?" when I opened my eyes and there above me hung a bag of IV and a bag of blood, (Which I later learned was bag # 4). My thoughts....oh shit, I almost died, and I have a tiny 6 pound 1 oz. , 22 inch long baby girl who needs her mother. Who will take care of her if I die?

Instead of retorting to her as to why she was slapping me, my retort was, "DON'T LET ME GO BACK TO SLEEP!" I just knew if I closed my eyes and went back to sleep I would die, and I had this little lady (Who I never expected to have) entrusted in my care and I so desperately wanted to be there for her and see her grow up. She assured me, that I could go back to sleep now, because I had come out of the anesthetic....But I still fought it and stayed awake.

My husband was allowed to come in to see me and He was white as a ghost. I knew it wasn't good, but it wasn't till much later that he told me that as he sat outside that surgery in the hall with his sister, all he could see was this tiny baby girl with no mother. Then the doctor came out and told him, "Mr. Coleman I have done everything in my power to stop the bleeding. There isn't anything else I can do. It is up to a Higher Power to stop it." , and he walked away.
I'm sure he said more then one prayer sitting there, knowing nobody on earth could stop the bleeding. They could not give us an answer as to why I bled like that either.

As fast as it started that is how fast it stopped.
Thanks be to God for allowing me to live, raise our daughter and see her grow up, get married and be the lovely lady she is today.



So today I am thankful I can join Lynnett Kraft in a walk down Memories Lane:
Check out other Memories from her blog.