Teresa Krammer and her husband had planned an induction for their baby boy at around 38 or 39 weeks. It was a long labor process, but she received an epidural and was feeling great. She even took a little nap. But when she woke up, she had a splitting headache and was feeling terrible.
That’s when everything changed rapidly. Her blood pressure dropped, and providers were struggling to find the baby’s heartbeat. She was rushed into an emergency C-section.
While they were working on him, she began to get the sense that things weren’t going well for her. She lost consciousness and started hemorrhaging. The care team struggled to stop the bleeding. Ultimately, Teresa had to undergo surgery and was given multiple blood transfusions to save her life.
“When I woke up, I remember hearing my husband and my family and the doctor kind of talk about ‘we had to have more blood trekked in’,” she said. “My husband said that he thought I’d received something like 10 units of blood.”
41 Donors Made a Lifesaving Difference
Later, about a full year after giving birth, Teresa looked back at her medical records and was shocked to see that she’d received 41 units of blood and blood products in total.
She thinks about it every day; every time she looks at her son. In the most mundane moments of life, she considers what she might have missed.
“I’ve just been extremely grateful for all the donors because that’s 41 people that made a really selfless decision,” Teresa shared sincerely. “Without those people, I wouldn’t get to be here with my son.”
Teresa never would have guessed that this would be her story. But none of us could ever know when we might be in need of something like that. It can happen so quickly with the nature of things being so urgent and critical.
“I remember reading somewhere that 200 units of blood are needed every day in the Central Texas area. And I needed 41,” she stated. “So again, that really drove home how quickly that supply can go.”
Teresa calls our community to action.
“Giving blood is one of those things that literally cost you nothing. It’s a time commitment, and it may be a little scary, but it’s the reason that I’m here today and I get to watch my son grow up.”