A mum from Higham, who almost bled to death after giving birth to triplets, is sharing her story in the hopes that it could save the lives of others by raising awareness of blood donations.
Brittany Riding, 34, had a planned caesarean section at Burnley Hospital on July 30. She gave birth to Maisie Grace, Luca James, and Arlo George Plummer, at 34 weeks pregnant.
All babies were born healthy, but Brittany suffered major complications, losing litres of blood.
Brittany said: “It was a planned c-section and everything went well until the babies came out. That is when I lost a lot of blood.
“I lost five litres of blood straight after the babies were out.
“I don’t understand everything that went on as I was a bit out of it. As they were putting blood in me, it was just coming straight back out.
“I had to go back down for another operation to stop the bleeding and I think I lost another five or six litres then. They managed to get it under control but it was a bit touch and go at times.”
Brittany said it was a scary experience for her fiancé, Matthew Plummer.
She said: “Doctors were crying when I came around – I asked my partner why and he said it’s because I shouldn’t be here.
“They had to rush blood from other hospitals – and he had three babies handed to him. It was very chaotic and overwhelming for him.”
Brittany received more than 20 pints of blood and blood products to survive.
She said: “I feel very lucky to still be here with the babies. It took me months to get well, I am only feeling fine just now. I had blood clots and had to have so many doctors’ appointments.
“We were so looked after by the staff at the hospital. They did an amazing job looking after everyone in the family.”
She is now raising awareness of the importance of blood donors in the hopes it will encourage more people to donate.
“You don’t realise there how bad the blood shortage is until you’re in the position I was in,” she said.
“I can’t donate now and I didn’t realise how many factors there are to consider when it comes to blood donations.
"I hope this makes people more aware. If you can’t donate blood then donate to charities if you can.
“Money is great but the most important thing is raising awareness."
Matthew is also taking part in challenges to raise awareness and funds for blood donation and their accompanying charities.
Matthew and his friend, Nathan, are taking on two major challenges, The Manchester Marathon on April 27 and the Pennine Barrier Ultra Marathon, a gruelling 50-mile race with 3000m of elevation, on May 2.
“Matt wants to smash the challenges. He wants to do the Manchester Marathon in less than three hours and 30 minutes. Then there is an ultramarathon and he wants to come in the top 10 per cent," Brittany said.
“I think it is amazing what he and Nathan are doing. Matt is working full time, has three babies, and is training.
“I am really proud of him what he’s doing is unreal.”
How to donate blood
To donate blood you will need to:
- be generally fit and well
- be aged between 17 and 65
- weigh between 7 stone 12 lbs (50kg) and 25 stone (158kg)
- have suitable veins (we will check these before you donate)
- meet all donor eligibility criteria (we will check this with you before you donate)
You can't donate blood if you:
- have had most types of cancer
- have some heart conditions
- have received blood, platelets, plasma or any other blood products after 1 January 1980
- have tested positive for HIV
- have had an organ transplant
- are a hepatitis B carrier
- are a hepatitis C carrier
- have injected non-prescribed drugs including body-building and injectable tanning agents. You may be able to give if a doctor prescribed the drugs
Men can give blood every 12 weeks and women can give blood every 16 weeks. This is because men generally have higher iron levels than women.
You can give blood at thousands of donation venues across England, from permanent donor centres to pop-up community venues.
To donate to Matthew’s fundraiser visit JustGiving.com and search Manchester Marathon and Pennine Barrier Ultra Fundraiser.
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