The husband of former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader Krystal Anderson is breaking his silence and speaking out about his wife's tragic death from childbirth complications. Clayton Anderson is now raising awareness about maternal sepsis after Krystal died from cardiac arrest caused by the condition at 40 years old.
She had just experienced her second stillbirth. The couple first found out they were pregnant in November 2023. They thought it to be a sign from their first child, James, who was stillborn in 2022.
"It was like our little sign from him that, 'Hey, Mom, Dad, I got you. Don't worry about it,'" Clayton said in an interview with ABC News. But tragedy soon struck for the second and third time — their second child was stillborn, and then Krystal died from complications after the birth.
"She was my world… my best friend and obviously the love of my life and mother to our children," her husband said. He went on to share that they were cautious going into their most recent pregnancy given what happened the year before. In February 2023, Krystal underwent a procedure to remove fibroids, which was supposed to help lower the chances of another loss, according to Clayton.
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"One of the issues that I guess I have with the system overall is Krystal is 40, and she's Black, and we'd had a loss before," he said. "But even then they say you know, you can't start a plan with maternal fetal medicine or the high-risk maternity doctors until you get to week 14."
During the 16th week of her pregnancy, Krystal underwent a cerclage procedure to ensure her cervix could remain viable for the remainder of the pregnancy. The couple was told that doctors were taking the best possible preventive action, yet the pregnant mother returned again at 20 weeks.
After experiencing complications in March 2024, the plan became to admit Krystal into a specialized hospital unit to handle a periviable birth if she could make it to 22 weeks. During that 20-week visit, she was put on semi-bedrest for two weeks in order to reach the 22-week point. However, later on that week, the couple rushed to the hospital after she began feeling back pains. After running tests, doctors found the presence of amniotic fluid and could not detect a heartbeat in the fetus.
While the couple were grieving the loss of their child, their daughter Charlotte Willow, Krystal spiked a fever and developed signs of severe sepsis. According to Clayton, doctors gave Krystal an epidural and attempted to allow her to deliver vaginally birth, but it wasn't successful.
"'We have to get Charlotte out of there,'" Clayton recalled the doctors saying. "'Because you're not trending very well, and now it's about saving you, mama.'"
Krystal died on March 20, 2024, from sepsis complications. "All pregnancy is high risk, especially, moreso, when you're a woman of color, or you're older, and they should be treated that way from the start," Clayton said.
"Expecting somebody who's had a loss to go four weeks in between seeing their care providers… That's the same protocol that's done for a 23-year-old that's very healthy. It can't be a one-size-fits-all," Clayton said.
Of his late wife, he added, "She would want everything to shine and sparkle, and she would want her laughter to be spread. This is terrible and tragic. And, you know, I don't think she wanted to be the person to champion these causes. But if she was going to do it, she was going to do it with joy."
