In June 2022, Vanessa and Phillip Detten were excited to welcome a beautiful baby girl to their family.
While in recovery from an emergency C-section, Vanessa experienced a great amount of bleeding and had to be rushed back into surgery.
"A lot was a blur," she recalled. "I remember going into the recovery room and still not feeling well. One thing I do remember was the look on my doctor’s face and hearing him say we needed to go back into surgery to find where all the blood was coming from. I could feel the bleeding and the blood clots. I could hear nurses and doctors around me getting me ready and prepped to go back into surgery. I didn't know why."
The next thing Vanessa remembers is waking up in the hospital's intensive care unit 12 hours later.
"Later one of the doctors came to me and told me the news that I had begun hemorrhaging after my C-section and the only way to save my life was to do an emergency hysterectomy surgery," Vanessa said. "I was 28 years old. I was told I lost about and received 14 units of blood during surgery. All I could do was cry."
Vanessa's baby was discharged from the hospital before she was, as she needed some additional time and blood transfusions to recover. Five days after she entered the hospital, she finally got to go home.
While Vanessa had been a regular blood donor prior to becoming a mother, this first-hand experience was a powerful reminder of how truly lifesaving donating can be.
"Without blood donations, I would not be here today," Vanessa said.
Donate blood to help patients like Vanessa
In hospitals across Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, countless patients are currently awaiting lifesaving blood transfusions. Your donation can help as many as three of them. Donate blood today and become a part of their story.
