In March 2017 I was pregnant with my daughter; at 36 weeks I had to be induced due to complications with pre-eclampsia.
When my daughter was delivered everything quickly went downhill. I recall feeling extremely unwell and hearing someone say her blood pressure is 50/40. After that I remember the room filling very quickly with people then very little.
I had developed a rare pregnancy complication called HELLP Syndrome. My red blood cells were breaking down, my platelets weren’t clotting and my liver enzymes were alarmingly elevated. After my daughter was born I haemorrhaged rather badly. I required three blood transfusions along with a transfusion of plasma and platelets. I either had two transfusions of plasma or platelets but I can’t remember which.
I will forever be grateful to the people who took the time to donate blood and also platelets. You don’t realise how important a small act of donating is to someone who desperately needs them.
I now try and encourage people to donate blood and also try and raise awareness that you can also donate platelets, as they never know when someone close to them may actually need them.
I don’t think people who donate understand how much people appreciate what they do. If it wasn’t for the amazing medical team and the people who donated their blood and platelets, I wouldn’t be here today to tell my story and try and encourage more people to also donate. A small part of your day could save someone’s life.
I will be forever grateful to the people who donated.