JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. Doctors and even lawmakers are ringing the alarm on what’s being called a Black maternal health crisis. News4JAX is digging deeper into the whys and what’s being done to address what doctors and policymakers say is not a simple fix.
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Miracle mom Twilla Washington walked through the Mayo Clinic for the first time in 13 years and recalled how doctors would just stop by her room, in awe of her recovery. It all started two days before she gave birth.
“I just got this headache. So I ran to Publix and took my pressure. It was like 165 or something. It was something ridiculous I’d never had before,” Twilla said.
Twilla said high blood was never a concern in her life or during pregnancy and she was having a great pregnancy up until that moment. She and her husband, Johnny, went to the hospital.
“They checked my vitals and said the baby was fine. Got my blood pressure down -- just suggested that I go to my doctor’s visits,” Twilla said.
They thought everything was fine until two days later when she almost crashed on her way to work.
“I was looking in the mirror and my eyes were the color of your coat (yellow). By the time I got to the top of the Hart Bridge, I remember I was hitting the bridge. Oh my god, I was literally hitting the bridge,” Twilla recalled.
Twilla made it to the hospital that day, and in two hours, they delivered her baby boy, Joshua, six weeks early.
“They said it was severe pre-eclampsia and that if they didn’t take him. We both would have died,” Washington said.
They survived the delivery but that night Twilla flatlined. She woke up two weeks later after being moved to Mayo Clinic in a medically induced coma. The next thing she remembered was devastating.
“Waking up with the band on my wrist. It said I was on the kidney and liver donor list. And I’m like, what is happening? How did I get here?” Twilla said.
Twilla’s kidney and liver were severely damaged. She eventually had to have dialysis three days a week. She was a new, first-time mom, barely alive herself.
Her earliest memories of spending time with her son are emotional.
“I mean, they would bring him in. Unfortunately, because I was so sick, even with the infection that I had, I would have to wear masks. But they would bring him in, I just don’t remember,” Twilla said through tears.
Twilla said she’d forget the short moments they had together, but one thing she never forgot.
“I just wanted to fight to be here for my baby. That was my motivation,” Twilla said.
She also was concerned about all the medication she was on during this time because, she said, her body wasn’t used to being medicated, so she advocated for a break.
“I know my body. I trust me, and so I had one physician -- I wish to God I could remember his name. He listened to me. He said, ‘We’re going to take you off all of it, and we’re going to try,’ and that’s how my body finally progressed to here,” Twilla said.
She started to get out of her room, spending time in the sunny courtyard. She said she’d watch and listen to the fountain and the experience revived her.
“When I would come out here and sit in the sun, like, my numbers would go up and my skin just felt alive,” Twilla said.
After six months on dialysis, Twilla was cleared, never needing that transplant.
She said she truly feels like a miracle.
The entire experience is just a memory. Twilla’s health is normal and her son, Joshua, is now 13 years old.
“Pray for me, put me on everybody’s altar call with a 13-year-old boy,” Twilla said.
But Twilla and her family chose to focus on the beautiful life they’ve created. She doesn’t talk much about her experience but she does tell her son this.
“I always say his birthday is my birthday. And he’s like, ‘Mom, you’re so funny.’ I’m like, ‘No, seriously. I feel like I had another chance at life,’” Twilla said.
It’s one that she’ll never take for granted.
This story is just one example of the dangers of pre-eclampsia. Black women are 60% more likely to develop this potentially deadly condition. A local doctor says Black women have more risks for pre-eclampsia during and after pregnancy versus white women. She believes there should be different checklists and protocols so that all women and babies can stay healthy and safe.
Keep checking this article we’ll have that story for you soon as the next part in our Black maternal health series.