Karla Perez, 22, was 22 weeks pregnant when she suffered a stroke. Her family decided to keep her on life support until the baby was born.
"Karla was at home, noticed she had a headache and needed to lay down and take a nap. She woke up later that evening around 10:30 or 11 and noticed the headache had become progressively worse and told her family she needed to go to the hospital." Dr. Todd Lovgren, a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Doctor at Methodist Women's Hospital, said in an interview with WOWT.com.
Doctors declared that Karla was brain dead upon arrival to the hospital, yet the family insisted on keeping her body alive until the baby was ready to be removed from her body through a C-section.
Berta Jimenez, Karla's mother, recalled how difficult it was for the family. Even if it was her daughter's second pregnancy, it became extremely difficult for her that her family was with her even before she lost her consciousness.
The doctors did an emergency C-section on April 4 after Karla's condition became worse. The baby boy, named Angel, was born weighing 2 lbs. and was put in an intensive care unit due to his premature condition. The baby is now on a stable condition.
Karla not only gave life to her son, but also hope to three people who received her donated organs.
A similar case was reported last year. Robyn Benson, 32, was also 22 weeks pregnant when she had a stroke and went brain dead.
Strokes during pregnancy usually happen when the woman has high blood pressure or preeclampsia, thus it is critical to monitor one's blood pressure and to talk to the doctor immediately.
