I am running my first ever half marathon to raise money for a hospital that I owe my life to, St George’s Hospital, Tooting.

It was in April 2024 when pregnant with my third baby that I received the concerning and rare diagnosis of placenta accreta following a period of bleeding. Placenta accreta is a condition where the placenta grows too deeply into the wall of the womb, meaning it will likely not detach itself at delivery. Placenta accreta is a spectrum condition, and sadly mine was diagnosed as the most severe variant where the placenta had passed through the wall of the uterus. It was devastating to hear that this complication could cause life threatening bleeding at delivery, and would likely result in the removal of my womb (hysterectomy) to ensure my survival.

The Fetal Medicine Unit at St George’s helped me to process the news and spoke to me at length to help answer all of my questions. I felt so lucky that the accreta had been diagnosed early so it could be managed as safely as possible by the specialist accreta team, led by Ms Ana Pinas.

In May 2024, my daughter was born by planned c-section while I was under general anaesthetic. Due to her prematurity and the effects of the anaesthesia, she arrived needing extra breathing support and so was quickly whisked away to NICU where she spent her first few hours before being moved to SCBU for a further week.

Meanwhile the removal of my placenta was the focus for the surgical team. After an early incision to remove the womb caused a heavy blood loss of 5 litres in a few moments, I was in a critical condition with severely low blood pressure. The anaesthetist team could see that the surgery needed to be stopped immediately to ensure my survival. The focus then turned to life saving procedures led by the anaesthetist team with my lead surgeon performing aortic compression to prevent cardiac arrest. When the surgery continued, another 8 litres of blood were lost as my womb and the placenta were removed. When I eventually woke up I was told I was in GICU (general intensive care) having been in (what we usually refer to as) a coma.

Waking up in GICU is a frightening experience but the wonderful team there put me at ease, immediately telling me where I was and that my baby (sex still unknown to me at this point!) had safely arrived. They took amazing care of me, and even tried to facilitate my meeting my baby for the first time. Within 24 hours of waking from the coma, I was back in the high dependency unit of the maternity ward. 36 hours after my daughter was born, I finally met my little girl. She was so familiar to me despite never having seen her before - I held her for a few moments and cried with relief that we were finally together.

I owe my life to the surgical and anaesthetist teams that saved me that day. Without their skill and dedication, I would not be here. The names and faces of that team will forever be remembered in our family and one day we will tell my daughter why it is that she has the absolute privilege of sharing her middle name with the wonderful Ms Ana Pinas who worked so hard to make sure her mummy would get to be part of her life.

I am also truly grateful to all those people at St George’s who supported me along the way. From the midwives who listened to me sob as I desperately longed to go home with my baby, the GICU nurses and doctors who stabilised me, the neonatal teams who looked after my baby when I couldn’t, the dinner ladies who fed me every day both antenatally and postnatally; I will always be filled with gratitude for how hard you all work to ensure your patients are cared for in those hardest moments.

So please help me in thanking St George’s for all that they do by supporting me in my fundraising for them. It really does mean the world to me to give something back to this amazing hospital after all they did for myself and my daughter to keep us safe.

Read more about what the Charity does!

‘Better Care, Healthier Lives’. We are the charity that exists to support St George’s hospitals and the communities they serve. Every day, our work makes a real difference to patients, their families and friends and the staff who care for them.