PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - A mother who nearly lost her life while giving birth to her daughter returned to the hospital to celebrate her child’s first birthday and give thanks to the doctors and nurses who saved both her and her daughter’s lives.
Gelly Vento and her family visited the doctors and nurses at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines on Tuesday.
“None of us had any idea what was going to happen that day,” Cameron Howard, a doctor at the hospital, said.
Vento went into the hospital to give birth last February, and while there, doctors said she had major complications. Her heart stopped twice, and they had to perform their first ever perimortem C-section to save her baby.
“I witnessed a group of doctors and nurses that got right into action, and even though facing a challenge that they’ve probably never dealt with, they were ready and prepared,” Geovanny Vento, the mother’s husband, said. “For that, I thank you. I have my family now.”
Doctors believe Vento suffered an amniotic fluid embolism.
“It’s literally nothing short of miraculous,” intensive care physician Daniel Mayer said. “What’s incredible to me as an intensive care physician is that with amniotic fluid embolisms, the mortality, meaning the number of people that die from this, is way over 90%.”
The event is hard for Vento to speak about, but she and her daughter survived thanks to some quick thinking and talented doctors.
“It’s a blessing,” she said. “I had to learn how to walk. I had to learn how to speak, so it was basically, it was very difficult, but I thank God every single day of my life for a second chance.”
The Ventos are thanking the doctors who saved their lives and celebrating with them with a big birthday party that included prayers, hugs and gifts for Gilliana.
“I think this is probably where science and spirituality meet,” Mayer said, “because when you look at it from a scientific standpoint, Gelly shouldn’t be with us today or her daughter, and the fact that they’re with us is miraculous and an absolute blessing.”
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