Labor with Essure - Life Altering

Hello,

As many of you know, the life of a baby boy was lost when his mom suffered complications during labor. Sadly, this isn't the first time a mom has suffered complications during labor. This entry tells the story of the day Luke Schmidt was born. It’s the day his dad, Jon, almost became a widow and his wife, Lora, almost became a statistic. This story is testament to dangers a mom with Essure experiences during pregnancy and labor.

September 1, 2011 is a day that Jon and Lora will never forget. Luke came into the world, and he's a miracle baby. His mom, Lora, had been implanted with Essure and the odds of pregnancy are incredibly slim if you believe the numbers published by Conceptus/Bayer. Essure failed Lora and she was expecting her next child.

Labor was not easy for Lora, but its post delivery which left Lora in the fight of her life. After the delivery, Lora was bleeding internally and the doctors we're struggling to locate the source of the bleeding. For the next 8 hours, starting at 2pm, several attempts were made to rectify the crisis including at emergency DNC.

At around 10:30pm, the doctors assured Jon that Lora would be fine and they resolved the issues that caused the bleeding. Jon had heard that many times, and he was praying this was finally true. It seemed to be that was the case because the doctors went home, Lora's parents left and Jon sent texts that everything was finally okay.

Baby Luke hadn't been named yet, and he was in the nursery waiting to be held by both Mom and Dad so they could decide on the right name for the miracle baby. Lora had basically been through hell and was very weak. She had bled internally for over 8 hours, and that much blood loss takes an extreme toll on someone. Jon is doing the best he can do for his wife, when in a moment like this, all he can really do is be there.

It’s now about 11:15pm, and the crisis is not over despite having been told this multiple times by multiple doctors. Lora suddenly passes a blood clot which, in Jon's estimate, is the size of a small baby. Her blood pressure crashes and reads at dangerously low 28/51. Lora starts the first of three blood transfusions and emergency surgeons are called in from home. What was once a quite place with only Jon and Lora has erupted into complete chaos. There are at least 10 to 12 nurses in the room as well as the anesthesiologist who is barking orders after bursting into the room. It’s the actions of this one person which Jon credits with saving the life of Lora. The bed is titled at a severe angle with her feet in the air and head to the floor. An IV is set in her neck and the transfusions are being fed into her from this vein which is very high so the blood would flow faster.

Jon took a moment to survey Lora and the nurses in the room. Four are visibly shaking and shedding tears. It was at that moment when the trauma of the day fully hit him. Jon is now shedding tears while in complete shock. Lora is suddenly on the move, being wheeled into surgery again. It’s not the first time she's been in that part of the hospital. As they are running, Lora calls out to Jon, "Mister" she says which is her pet name for him. She is saying this while drifting in and out of consciousness. They are now running full speed to the elevator with a full team of medical professionals. The very short elevator ride feels like an eternity. Jon is holding Lora's hand tight and she says "It hurts Mr., I can't do this anymore".

Finally out of the elevator, they are off at full sprint again to the OR. The IV cart gets caught in the floor board and falls to the floor causing Lora's arm to get pulled back as the bed is still moving. She screams in pain and the doctor lifts it back up and the sprint starts again. "I'm sorry Baby it won't happen again" Jon says to Laura. The IV then hits the top of the next door jam and falls again which results in more screams from Lora. Jon lets out a curse and to the doctor and takes control of the IV cart himself, all the while, he's NOT letting go of Lora's hand.

They reach the surgery doors and Lora asks "Mister is the baby OK?" "Yes, pretty girl, he is fine. He is with the nurses." She then asks Jon if she did okay. He tells her he's proud of her and she did great. "Why is this happening Mister?" Lora wants to know. Jon says that he doesn't. Lora then asks if she's going to be okay. Jon says yes, reassuring her that they know what it is this time. The truth is they still don't know what it is and he has no idea if Lora is going to be okay.

"You're going to be fine, I love you so much baby" are the last words Jon is able to say before his journey with the gurney comes to an end. He can't follow Lora the rest of the way and he stands there watching them continue to run with Lora. Tears are streaming down his face and he's surrounded by dead silence. It's now about 1:30am and he's been up for almost 36 hours with no food for the past 24 hours. He's not sure how he's functioning, and he's certainly not able to think straight. The fear of Lora not making it hits him hard in the eerily cold and silent hallway. All he can think about are his last words may have been a lie. He truly doesn't know if she'll be okay. He's alone in the waiting room when he notices a light shining through the small single stained glass church window which is in the chapel near the lobby. Jon is now sobbing and he prays.

"Dear God, I know I don't do this very often. I'm sorry that I only talk to you when I want something. But I really need your help right now." Jon drops to his knees as he continues to pray. "I promise I'll be a better person. I'll quit smoking. If this is because I didn't really want another baby, I'm Sorry. Please don't punish her for what I have done. I can't do this without her. Please God, I'll do anything."

A door opens and he hopes it’s someone with news about Lora. Is she OK? Is she alright now? It’s the janitor, who slowly walks past him without making any eye contact. It’s now 2:30 am and he realizes the last communication with family was "everything is fine". He calls her parents and they don't answer. Call. No answer. Pray. Cry. Call again. Cry some more. More prayers. Where is the un-named baby? Is he ok? More tears. Pray again? He then wonders "am I going to get in trouble for ignoring the baby?" Call again, still not answer. More praying, more crying. He then starts pacing and calls his mom. He manages to explain the events of the last few hours through intense sobs and she's on her way.

Finally, the anesthesiologist comes out. "Mr. Schmidt," he says, "We found the abdominal tear. I assure you she will be fine." Jon has heard this so many times that he tells the doctor that he doesn't believe him. He said "I guarantee you she is fine now" and, thankfully, it was finally true. Lora was in ICU in and medically induced coma and she really did make a full recovery. The tear was most likely caused by an Essure coil.

Baby Luke was named a few days later and he is the most precious gift. His birthday will always be full of very powerful emotions and memories. It’s one of the best and one of the worst days of Jon's life.

Jon and Lora so graciously share their story in hopes that others will be aware of what could happen.