A 35-year-old mother has died a week after giving birth to her third child due to a pregnancy-related infection.
Lindsay Crosby, of Simsbury, Connecticut, had her first son, Nolan, on June 24.
Eight days later, on July 2, she fell ill and was taken by ambulance to hospital, where she was diagnosed with group A Steptococcus and sepsis.
On the afternoon of July 4, Lindsay passed away surrounded by her husband Evan, newborn Nolan, and daughters Finlay, five, and Sigrid, three.
Lindsay Crosby, 35, passed away on July 4 after contracting sepsis from a childbirth-related bacterial infection. She is pictured here with her newborn son Nolan, daughters Finlay and Sigrid, and husband Evan
‘She was a woman who lived and loved with her full heart,’ her family wrote in a GoFundMe page.
‘While she was here with us, she filled many roles and wore many hats. All with a beautiful grace and laughter filled presence.
‘She passed far before any were ready for her to go, and yet, we know she is restored to fullness with our Father in heaven.
‘Lindsay was daughter, sister, wife, mother, family & friend to many.’
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is incredibly difficult to treat. The bacteria sweep through body tissue and organs swiftly. Once it starts spreading, doctors have to race to treat it with a combination of drugs. Some cases require limb amputations or surgery to remove infected tissue.
The most common GAS infections come from tampons (toxic shock syndrome) and flesh-eating bacteria in fresh water.
It is also one of the so-called ‘childbed fevers’, one of the bacterial infections that women are at-risk of contracting after giving birth.
Lindsay, pictured with Evan, grew up in Connecticut, where she coached lacrosse
Relatives paid tribute to Lindsay as ‘a woman who lived and loved with her full heart’
Funds have poured in to support Evan and their three children in the week since
In recent years, there has been a surge in cases of women developing postpartum GAS as the bacteria becomes more resistant to drugs and immune responses.
However, the symptoms can be difficult to spot, especially in the first few days after childbirth when women are experiencing various symptoms. It often starts as a cold before developing into the tell-tale fever. Some women experience heavy bleeding, which is a clearer warning sign, but often palmed off as childbirth-related so soon after giving birth.
Once the infection develops into sepsis, there are few options for treatment. A third of sepsis patients die.
Lindsay, who grew up in the nearby town of Granby, was the associate director of admission at Westminster School in Simsbury, where she also worked as the coach of the girl’s lacrosse team. Her father, Keith, coached the school’s men’s lacrosse team.
‘While she was here with us, she filled many roles and wore many hats,’ a relative wrote on the GoFundMe page, ‘all with a beautiful grace and laughter filled presence.’