…Mother Bleeds to Death After C-Section

John Romero

According to Romero, his wife was transported by ambulance to Belize City.  Upon arriving at the K.H.M.H., doctors immediately went to work and identified that a substantial amount of blood had coagulated inside Sanchez’s abdomen.  The surgeons at the hospital exhausted all options trying to save her, but at three-forty-five last Thursday afternoon, she died while undergoing treatment.

On the Phone: John Romero, Husband of Deceased

“At one o’clock she said, “Babe I feel pain eena mi abdomen” and to me the abdomen was looking a little bit swollen.  So I went to the doctor and the nurse and complained that she was in pain, she was feeling weak and in pain. And they came in and they looked at her and said they were going to do some analysis and, you know, again I was left there with and again I asked one doctor that went in there, a female doctor and I asked her “Nurse this baby is hungry, I need to go and buy tin of milk or can I buy something for her?”  The doctor said, “Yes, go head, go and buy the milk.”  So I took off. I went to get a tin of milk small baby and the baby sucked about five ccs of milk and she was okay. She stopped crying and she fell asleep. At this time, I asked my wife, “How are you feeling? And she said “Babe I feel weak; I feel like I di sweaty cold and whatnot.” And this went all the way until five-thirty in the evening when Doctor Landero moved into the ward and told me that there is nothing else he could do here; he has to refer her to K.H.M.H. in Belize City. So I said, “Oh God, this is how far we are going mien.” But there is nothing that we can do and she would get much more attention. So I said no problem. The baby was left tin Belmopan in the care of a nurse which I really appreciate her help and we took off to Belize City in the ambulance. I rode with her all the way to Belize City, talking to her and when we arrived at the K.H.M.H., I went with her into the theatre that they took her and right in front of my very own eyes…an ultrasound was done on her. And the doctor told me, Mister Romero what you are seeing here is a pool of blood in your wife’s abdomen and I said, “What? You got to be kidding me.” And he said a pool of blood…this dark spot is a pool of blood that has settled in her abdomen. And I said Jesus Christ she had continued bleeding since that second surgery was performed on her at Belmopan…it probably never stopped because she kept bleeding. And Doctor Arriaga came to me and told me I will take her to the operating theatre and conduct another surgery on her to remove the blood and stop the bleeding. And I said, Dcotor Arriaga do whatever you have to do please and he told me that she is in a critical condition. So they did what they had to do and they took her to the operating theatre and I waited outside. Within an hour or well over an hour, Doctor Arriaga came out and said I just took out three pints of blood from your wife’s abdomen. And I said, “What? Three pints of blood? Oh God…” And he said the bleeding has now stopped; we stopped the bleeding and now we wait for her reaction within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. And I waited outside and then I came out and they back her out of the operating theatre and took her to the ICU and that was the last time I saw her on the bed alive with all the instruments beating around, telling us that she was still alive. And then at about three fifteen, Thursday the tenth of September, I got a call from the hospital saying Mister Romero you need to come to the hospital. I said what for? And they hung up. And then a second call came in and said, Mister Romero I am sorry to inform you that she didn’t make it; your wife passed away. Unbelievably, she passed away. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

News Five understands that an official investigation has been ordered by the Ministry of Health into the cause of Sanchez’s death.  Meanwhile, Romero has indicated that depending on the outcome of the inquiry, legal action will be taken against government.  Director of Health Services, Doctor Ramon Figueroa, and C.E.O., Doctor Peter Allen, have both declined comment on the matter.