Serena Williams had a rather “public” pregnancy as she wasn’t shy to post numerous pictures of her playing tennis and training during her 9th months’ period. What we didn’t know is that Serena risked her life while delivering.
The Story
Serena shared her story with the CNN to disclose
“While I had a pretty easy pregnancy, my daughter was born by emergency C-section after her heart rate dropped dramatically during contractions,
The surgery went smoothly. Before I knew it, Olympia was in my arms. It was the most amazing feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life. But what followed just 24 hours after giving birth were six days of uncertainty.
It began with a pulmonary embolism, which is a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs become blocked by a blood clot.
Because of my medical history with this problem, I live in fear of this situation. So, when I fell short of breath, I didn’t wait for a second to alert the nurses.
This sparked a slew of health complications that I am lucky to have survived. First, my C-section wound popped open due to the intense coughing I endured as a result of the embolism.
I returned to surgery, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs.
When I finally made it home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of motherhood in bed.
I am so grateful I had access to such an incredible medical team of doctors and nurses at a hospital with state-of-the-art equipment. They knew exactly how to handle this complicated turn of events.
If it weren’t for their professional care, I wouldn’t be here today.”
So, if you wonder why Serena didn’t manage to come back for the Australian Open, you have the answer.
