Modesto hospital saves young mother who suffered a stroke after giving birth
Denise Guerrero of Modesto had spent only a few days at home with her newborn son when a stroke turned celebration into a life-threatening experience last year.
Soon after bringing her son, Noel, home from the hospital, Guerrero noticed her left leg was numb, and it started to get swollen as the days progressed.
Her sister-in-law was visiting when Guerrero, then 28, suddenly was short of breath. She handed Noel to her sister-in-law and turned to sit on the couch, but she passed out and fell to the floor.
The family member quickly called 911. Guerrero does not remember the ambulance ride to the hospital. “I recall waking up in the hospital room at least 24 hours later,” she said.
A team of physicians and nurses at Doctors Medical Center saved the life of the critically ill Modesto woman. She missed some time with her son during the medical crisis, which included two weeks of hospital care and another week of physical rehab. But she has fully recovered and is grateful for the doctors who diagnosed the problem and the nurses who provided care and held her hand.
“Every nurse and every doctor I came into contact with was kind and attentive toward me,” Guerrero said this week. “The further I get away from the situation, the more I realize how scary it is for someone to survive all those things at once.”
Soon after arriving at the hospital, Guerrero was found to have a pulmonary embolism, or blood clot in her lung, which was life-threatening.
Dr. Ramanjeet Singh, an intensivist at DMC, was called to the emergency department for an assessment of the patient. Singh determined that Guerrero should be placed on VA-ECMO, a life-support system that does the work of the heart and lungs for a medically unstable patient.
A procedure removed the blood clot from the lung. Additional testing revealed something Guerrero knew nothing about. She had a patent foramen ovale, which is a hole in the heart that causes no health effects for most people but was one reason for her medical emergency.
In the final analysis, Guerrero had blood clotting in both legs, leading to the pulmonary embolism. The heart defect was to blame for pumping the blood clots to the brain, causing the stroke.
A recent surgery closed the patent foramen ovale in Guerrero’s heart.
“It’s pretty amazing to see her doing as well as she’s doing,” said Michael Tillett, assistant director of critical care for DMC. “You’d pass her at the grocery store and not even realize that she’s suffered such a massive event, such a traumatic event in her life. She’s a miracle, and to be part of that miracle is an honor.”
The Guerrero family celebrated Noel’s first birthday March 24.
Guerrero said she still struggles with the emotions of the medical crisis last year. “The emotional trauma is a little hard to deal with,” she said. “I don’t think I could get through it without the strength and support of my family and husband.”
Blood clots are a possible complication for pregnant women. Guerrero said she takes blood thinners today as a precaution. The parents feel that another pregnancy would be a high risk.
“All of this has really changed my perspective, really made me realize all the love that I have and just how many people care about me,” Guerrero said. “I can say I’m stronger for it, knowing I got through something so severe.”
