'I found a bruise during pregnancy - then I went blind and doctors said I might die'

A new mumwho was diagnosed with a rare condition after spotting a "weird" bruise during pregnancy has revealed just how terrifyingly close she was to death.

Rebekah, 27, was 28 weeks into her pregnancy when she noticed strange bruising on her legs. And when she looked more closely, she realised the marks were all over her body. Little did she know then that this was a sign of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP), an extremely rare but serious condition which nearly proved fatal.

The woman's pregnancy had been "textbook" before the bruises appeared, and although she'd suffered a fair bit of morning sickness, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She was excited about welcoming her child, the first addition to her "little family".

At first, she ignored the bruising, which was made up of a constellation of little red dots. But then, after making herself anxious with Google searches, Rebekah decided to pay a visit to her GP, wondering if it might bea sign of low platelets. Worryingly, Rebekah as completely unaware of just how serious things were about to get.

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Rebekah, from Banbury, near Oxford, told the Mirror: "The doctor took my blood pressure and it was very high. Alarm bells [started] ringing for hypertension or pre-eclampsia."

A urine test also showed the presence of protein, a sign that pre-eclampsia could have been present. Rebekah, who works in IT services at Oxford University, recalled: "It was very strange, because otherwise I felt completely fine. [...] I felt healthy, you know."

The expectant mother was then seen by her midwife, who sent samples of her blood away for urgent results. By this point, Rebekah's blood pressure was "creeping up", climbing to 150 over 90, and she was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Although Rebekah was a "little bit stressed" with the niggling feeling that "something was wrong," she wasn't overly worried.

When medication failed to lower her blood pressure, Rebekah was told it might be "a bit of pre-eclampsia", and she and her husband were sent back to the waiting room.

Here, they sat for just a few short minutes before some of the midwives and nurses from the delivery suite arrived, telling them, "We're going to take you to the delivery suite now!"

She recalled: "We don't really understand how, but neither of us had any inkling that something was really wrong. It's interesting when you look back because it seems so obvious. Obviously, at that point, we knew something's not quite right, but we didn't think it was going to be quite as drastic as it was."

By the time Rebekah entered the delivery room, her blood pressure had risen to a "really concerning" 172 over 100. Eventually, a specialist doctor looked her over and told her she needs an emegrency C-section, explaining: "You're going to have a baby very soon".

By this point, te woman was only six months into her pregnancy and wasn't even really showing. But she was given plenty of reassurance that, although her baby would need time to grow and gain weight, they had a good chance.

She said: "We were told the baby might have eyesight issues, might have asthma, might have some minor physical limitation, like with a limb or cerebral palsy, or might have some academic restrictions in primary school, but will catch up.

"Obviously, we were really nervous and shocked, but also reassured that the baby will be OK because neonatal care in the country is absolutely phenomenal."

The couple rushed to prepare to welcome their baby, with her husband calling up their parents, who all headed straight to the hospital. But then, more information came to light about Rebekah's platelet level, which was at a "drastically low" 15. It should have been somewhere around the 115 mark.

Rebekah was told that doctors wouldn't be able to perform a C-section that night because she would bleed out. Medics were at that point still trying to figure out what was going on, and it was clear Rebekah's condition was more "complicated" than pre-eclampsia.

According to the mum, "We were told that it might be HELLP (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelets) syndrome, which is a complication of pre-eclampsia, and linked to the new low platelets. The treatment for that is platelet infusion and baby delivery, so that was kind of the next plan."

Determined to get to the bottom of the issue, medics tested for an enzyme called ADAMTS13, as they suspected she had something called Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP); a life-threatening syndrome caused by the formation of tiny blood clots in the blood vessels. It's believed just only 6 to 10 people per million might get TTP, making it very rare. But it turned out, Rebeckah was one of them.

As Rebekah noted, she was very fortunate to have been treated at the John Radcliffe Hospital, where there were specialists in the field who were able to give a diagnosis. She said: "If they'd have continued with the understanding that I had HELLP syndrome, they would have given me a platelet infusion, which would not have been the right treatment at all."

It was at this point that Rebakah was told she needed immediate treatment in intensive care. She explained: "At that moment, they said, 'The baby's not a patient anymore, you're a patient'. And they stopped monitoring the baby. At this point, I was in shock. You kind of just dissociate."

Doctors watched Rebekah very closely, knowing that, with TTP, the initial 24-hour period is where "death is most likely". After a diagnosis, treatment needs to be administered as soon as possible.

Worryingly, the woman's condition worsened to the point where she lost her vision, with one of her eyes "going haywire".

Luckily, Rebekah underwent treatment quickly and received 20 litres of plasma.

The next morning, it was time to discuss having a C-section, which was not without its risks. Rebekah's platelets had risen from 16 to 80, a number considered "low but safe enough" for what would be a "high-risk" C-section.

"I was told that there is a chance I could bleed out, and if that happens, the first thing they'll try is to remove my womb. And if that doesn't work, then I could bleed out," she revealed.

The mum went into the operating theatre believing she was going to die, but fortunately, the procedure was a success. Her newborn baby daughter, whom the couple aptly named Hope Catherine, was taken to the NICU, and Rebekah was able to meet her the following evening.

For the next two months, Rebekah, Matt and Hope remained at the John Radcliffe Hospital, staying at the Ronald McDonald House. Fortunately, little Hope "breezed through neonatal care", and the new parents were eventually allowed to bring her home to begin their life as a family, with Rebekah under careful supervision.

It wasn't until later that Rebekah realised just how perilous her situation had been, and how rare. The mum-of-one is now "still coming to terms" with everything she's been through, and she has received psychological support, as well as emotional support from her family, husband and members of her church.

Advising others to never ignore the signs, Rebekah said: "If you've got anything that looks a bit unusual, just go to the doctor, and advocate for yourself if you have to.

"Luckily, I didn't have to fight for myself, but I know some people do have to really advocate. Just go with your gut as well. My body knew something was wrong."

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com

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