Monica’s Journey

Monica Blok was 37 weeks pregnant and in inpatient when she was rushed to theatre at Monash Medical Centre for an emergency caesarean section. Her beautiful baby, Evie, was born within 30 minutes, however what was expected to be a straight-forward birth ended up being anything but. Unexpected complications saw Monica remain in surgery for another five hours before she was placed in an induced coma in the Intensive Care Unit. Monica was not expected to live.

Monica’s devoted husband Daniel divided his time between the bedsides of Monica and that of their newborn baby Evie, who was being cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

“Being there by her side was the only priority for me. It was scary. I was preparing to say goodbye to Monica – my wife and mother of our newborn baby” says Daniel.

Monica’s fight for life was remarkable and with the excellent care that followed in the weeks that followed, Monica made a full recovery.

Monica’s personal experience illustrates that not every journey into motherhood is an easy one.

“What happened after Evie was born is still unclear to me. I know they worked for hours trying to stop my enormous blood loss (12 litres) and they repaired my bladder which had been damaged due to a condition called placenta percreta. I was placed in an induced coma in the Intensive Care Unit and much later learned they didn’t think I would survive. I spent two weeks recovering until I was discharged on 18 January 2016.”

“What I am 100% certain of is that I spent 29 days in this public hospital and received amazing care, at no cost. I could write an essay alone on all the resources used to care for me during that time. We will never be able to repay them for saving my life and ensuring I would be here for my babies.”