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? "You know, I think the sun is rising and shining on you"?
At first there was a man, a woman and a song.
Frankie Beverly's "Before I Let Go" was blown away by the sound at a birthday party when Charles Johnson saw Kira. Right now, he's done something very out of character. He began to sing while doing serenade abroad at first sight.
"She just split that smile that looked like a wall, and that was history," recalls Charles.
Ten years later, only one of them would be alive to share her love story and the conversation she sparked about mothers, medical care and racism.
? "We were so close. Our love was strong "?
Kira Johnson is described as unstoppable. She spoke five languages, traveled the world, and drove cars with Charles by his side. The couple had their first child, Charles Johnson V, about a year before their spontaneous marriage to Mexico.
In 2016, they were waiting again.
"We always wanted boys back to back. When we heard that we were welcoming another boy, we were simply ecstatic, "recalls Charles.
He added that Kira never missed an antenatal visit and received excellent reports every day. All signs indicated a healthy delivery.
(The story continues under the gallery)
? "You made me happy, you can bet. I stayed next to me and I will never forget " ?
Charles said that he knew that his wife had been admitted to the hospital with exceptional health and had given birth to a healthy little boy. However, he realized that something was wrong as he watched her struggling in the recovery room.
He noticed blood in Kira's catheter. He said he reported to nurses and doctors, and the staff ordered a scanner.
"It was supposed to be running STAT," said Charles. "In my mind, I think:" It means right away. "
Charles said that he had repeatedly asked for help from the medical staff, but had waited for hours.
"She's starting to shake uncontrollably," Charles remembered. "She's starting to shake, she's starting to get worse, she's getting sensitive to touch, there's still no scanner."
Charles said that a CT scan had never been performed and that they waited seven hours before the doctors rerun it for an internal examination.
? "Nothing I would not do. Before letting you go ?
When the time came to examine Kira, Charles said that the doctor had told him they would solve the problem.
"She'll be back in 15 minutes," said Charles, the doctor told him. "And that's the last time I've seen Kira alive."
Charles said the doctors found three liters of blood in Kira's stomach and his heart stopped immediately.
Less than 12 hours after giving birth to their second child, Kira Johnson died of hemorrhage.
"We got into what we hoped was the happiest day of our lives. And we went straight into a nightmare, "said Charles. "I stay awake at night thinking I might have had to grab some one by the collar, maybe I should have flipped a table, would that have made a difference?" Even two years later, I still can not understand this in my mind. "
Charles's mother is Glenda Hatchett. She operates a law firm in Atlanta, but is also known for her television show on the national short film. Judge Hatchett. She and her daughter-in-law Kira were very close. She was in the hospital before the birth of Langston. The news of Kira's death has devastated her.
"She was so excited that Langston is coming in. She should be here," Hatchett said.
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Mothers die
The case of Kira is not unique. Deaths related to pregnancy are increasing in the United States more than in any other country in the developed world.
In 2015, the global burden of disease study found that for every 100,000 births, 26 mothers die in the United States. In comparison, the number of deaths is nine in the United Kingdom, seven in Canada and four in Italy, Sweden and Denmark.
In the United States, at least 700 women die each year from pregnancy-related causes, according to a report from the Nine Committee on Maternal Mortality. These deaths occur during pregnancy, childbirth or until one year after childbirth. More than half of the deaths were deemed preventable by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"There is no acceptable maternal mortality. This is a basic measure of a country's health and healthcare system. So, what we would say about ourselves is that our situation is not very healthy and we have a lot of work to do, "said Dr. William Callaghan, Chief of the Maternal and Child Health Branch. CDC.
Two years after Johnson's death, Cedars-Sinai Hospital issued the following statement about his death:
Kira Johnson's death was a tragedy. Her husband, Charles S. Johnson IV, has shown significant leadership in raising awareness about preventable maternal deaths. Cedars-Sinai strongly agrees with Johnson and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that no mother should die in childbirth.
Although federal privacy laws prevent us from directly intervening in the care of a patient without written authorization, we can share the following: One of the reasons for the high quality of patient care is that Cedars-Sinai is that we thoroughly examine any situation that raises concerns about the health of the patient. care. Based on our findings, we are making the necessary changes to continue to provide the highest quality of care to our patients. This includes the review of hospital procedures as well as the skills of health care providers.
Hatchett thinks that Kira's death could have been avoided.
"They did some research, they were in Los Angeles, they knew that Cedar Sinai was a world class hospital and after his death, they said," Oh, if we had brought her back to the gym. operation, she would go perfectly well. Oh if we had … "Why the hell is not it? It was not that she was sick, it was not that she had a pre-existing condition , that she had a heart problem or that she had a blood clot, none of that was the case of Kira. "
►NEXT CHAPTER: Why childbirth is a death sentence for many black mothers
Maternal Mortality State by State
Infogramme
© 2018 WXIA
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