I Was Six Months Pregnant and Had a Stroke

By Carolina Mas

My memory of the time is kind of blurry, but what I do remember comes through very clearly. After dinner on September 12, 2013, I told my husband that I had the worst headache, and he told me it was probably just one of my migraines. This headache felt different to me, though; I felt like something was wrong, but I just went to bed anyway to see if that helped.

September 13, 2013, started off like any other day: I made a pot of coffee, made myself a waffle, and poured some cereal for my oldest child. After breakfast my husband went out for a while, and when he came back he said I didn’t look right – which was a concern because I was six months pregnant. We argued back and forth because I told him I was fine, but it ended with him calling 911.

When the paramedics came, they first took me to a little hospital in Boulder, but they were not equipped to treat me there because I was pregnant. I was sent to a hospital in Denver where they were then able to remove a blood clot from my brain through my thigh. While I was there I did suffer three seizures due to my stroke, which I later found out affected 70% of my brain.

Once I was stable to fly, I was flown to Miami where we are from, and that's where I’d say things really took a turn for the worst. After landing in Miami I was rushed to the local hospital, which has a great NICU program. While in the hospital I suffered several TIAs. They wanted to take my baby out but I said no because she was too little at only 21 weeks. On October 19, I suffered another stroke. At that time they said we need to take her out, so on October 21, 2013, via emergency C-section my little miracle baby girl was born at 4 lbs 3 oz.

Fast forward to present day, and I’m surrounded by a wonderful team of doctors who not only finally figured out what caused my stroke back in 2013 but continue to monitor me. It appears I have a blood clotting disorder MTHFR and also antibodies for the autoimmune disease APS (anti phospholipids syndrome) that, in combination with being 6 months pregnant and not being on any anticoagulants, formed the clot in my brain. Thankfully now I’m taking medications, being monitored by a hematologist and neurologist, and thanking God that my baby girl and I are both alive. I still have some left-side weakness but with patience, more therapy, and never giving up, I know I’ll continue to get better.

And that’s what I hope to achieve with this story. I’ve never been able to tell it without breaking down, or to hear about someone having a stroke without having to leave the room – but I think I survived for a purpose, and my baby survived for a purpose, if I can help others get through what I went through. And I want to do that.

For more information on this health topic, visit heart.org.

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