A Melbourne Mum whose heart stopped pumping properly just hours after she gave birth to twin girls has been reunited with the team of hospital heroes who saved her life.
Alex Judd thanks her lucky stars for the care she received 12 months ago - a day that was both the happiest and scariest of her and husband Tim’s lives.
Just hours after their twin daughters were born safely via Caesarean section at Frances Perry House, Alex’s heart started struggling to pump blood.
She had suffered a rare condition known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy - or 'broken heart' syndrome.
Alex was rushed across an interconnecting bridge to the RMH’s Intensive Care Unit, where she was intubated and given a life-saving treatment known as ECMO.
The special machine is an advanced form of life support that takes over the function of the heart and lungs.
It kept her alive for six days while highly-trained teams from the RMH worked together to provide the complex, world-class care she needed to make a full recovery.
Today, the family couldn’t be more grateful for the care they received - visiting the RMH a year on to say “thank you”.
“We came to the hospital to have twin girls… and ended up here in the ICU," Alex recalled.
"How do you ever thank someone that they saved your wife’s life and all of your kids still have their mother?" Tim said.
The visit was made even sweeter with the twins, Esther and Violet, celebrating their first birthdays earlier this month.
Members from the RMH’s ICU and Cardiology Departments, who were instrumental in Alex’s recovery, were present for the visit - with the twins and their parents bringing smiles to many faces.
Alex and her babies are the face of this year’s RMH Foundation Tax Appeal campaign, which is raising money for the Impella Heart Program - the “next generation” of life-saving heart devices to help ensure more people like Alex go home to their families.
“This is a new device which is much, much smaller,” Professor Andrew Taylor, the RMH’s Director of Cardiology, said.
“Every eight times you put one in, you’re going to save a life.”
To support people like Alex, you can make a tax-deductible donation today by visiting the RMH Foundation's website.
Your support ensures the RMH can offer world-class care to every patient who comes through the doors.
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After the birth of her twins, Alex’s heart 'broke.’
She needed immediate, complex treatment to save her life.
Your vital support ensures 100% world-class care for patients like Alex, always. Please make your tax-deductible donation today.