Pregnancy is widely considered to be one of the most exciting and joyous times in any woman's life. Being with child is an exciting and life-changing experience for so many women. But for one mom, the precious time she spent carrying her baby in utero actually overlapped with one of the most frightening things she's ever experienced, and likely one of the most frightening things any mom-to-be could experience while pregnant.
Kelley Evans and her husband Gareth were expecting their second child, a little baby girl. Kelley was actually more than halfway through her pregnancy when she experienced a terrifying medical emergency. Kelley actually died for a full seven minutes while her heart came to a complete halt. You would think that would be the end of Kelley, as well as the end of the pregnancy but sometimes miracles happen.
Much to everyone's surprise and joy, Kelley was brought back to life by a quick-thinking first responder who knew exactly what to do in this harrowing situation.
Even more miraculously, the baby girl she was carrying was later delivered and hadn't had any ill effects as a result of her mom's near-death experience.
Now, the family of four is sharing the story of how they narrowly avoided tragedy.
Scroll through to learn more about this miraculous birth.
Thumbnail Photo: SWNS
Kelley and Gareth are a happily married couple who live a peaceful and normal life in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire in England. Little did they expect what would happen to Kelley when she became pregnant with her second child.
The two lovebirds were already parents to a happy and healthy toddler son named Bob (how cute is that name for a toddler?) when Kelley became pregnant with their daughter.
But Kelley experienced a terrifying medical emergency when she was 23 weeks pregnant with her baby girl.
The 35-year-old mom went into cardiac arrest due to a rare condition that causes Kelley's heart to beat abnormally.
Kelley was diagnosed with the rare hereditary condition Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome when she was just a teen.
The condition causes Kelley's heart to beat abnormally fast, which itself results in dizziness, shortness of breath, and even fainting.
"I have had these episodes all of my life since puberty and when it started I thought it was panic attacks," Kelley explained to SWNS.
That's exactly what happened on a terrifying night in question during her pregnancy.
"On the day I nearly died, I woke up around 5 am having what I thought was a panic attack. I did all the things they recommend, I drank some water, sat in the bathroom and did some breathing exercises but it just wouldn't go away for about half an hour," she recalled.
Eventually, Kelley collapsed and her husband (unaware she'd actually gone into cardiac arrest) called the emergency services number.
There were no ambulances available, so a first responder was sent. The first responder, who the couple knows only as Stephanie, thankfully remained calm and knew exactly what to do.
Stephanie used a defibrillator to pump Kelley's chest and bring her back to life. According to The Sun, Kelley had been unconscious for four minutes.
Afterward, the ambulance arrived and rushed Kelley to the hospital. She had surgery to resolve her heart condition a week later and fully recovered.
Baby Ava was born four months later on November 24, 2017.
Miraculously, the little girl was completely healthy at 8lbs 14 oz and shows no signs of ill effects from the traumatic ordeal her mom experienced.
Now, the Evans family just wants to thank first responder Stephanie, who saved the day.
"If the first responder hadn't arrived when she did, it would have be a whole different story. She saved my life and without her, it's possible neither me nor Ava would be here today," Kelley said. "We were so relieved to hear Ava hadn't suffered any complications, I can never thank her enough for what she did for our family."
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