The wife of a former X Factor star has revealed for the first time how she almost bled to death after suffering a devastating miscarriage.
Debbie King, 40, the wife of Jonathan Ansell, 35, who is the lead singer of the operatic group G4, suffered severe bleeding after losing her baby at just 10 weeks while on her holiday with the couples’ children Siena, six, and Dexter, two.
Debbie, who presented the game show Quizmania, endured life-threatening bleeding, which required doctors to put her in a coma and give her a complete blood transfusion.
She said: ‘Essentially, every drop of blood in my body was replaced. It was the most frightening moment of my life. I had gone from desperate for a baby to just desperate to be alive.’
Although now recovered and home in Leeds with Jonathan, who was a runner-up in the 2004 series of X Factor, Debbie, now a children’s author, still suffers excruciating pain and is unsure if the damage done to her organs will ever be resolved.
The wife of an X Factor star almost bled to death after suffering a rare pregnancy complication
After a devastating miscarriage, Debbie King, 40, suffered what is known as a placenta percreta (pictured with husband Jonathan, 35, and their children Siena, six, and Dexter, two)
‘I had gone from desperate for a baby to just desperate to be alive’
Debbie discovered the baby’s heart had stopped beating while on holiday in Lanzarote but waited until she was back in the UK to have the foetus removed.
She said: ‘I was okay about it. I was upset but I had two beautiful children and I had desperately wanted another baby but I thought we could try again.’
When back in the UK, the operation took two hours, considerably longer than the normal 15 to 20 minutes, as Debbie began bleeding uncontrollably.
Doctors fitted Debbie with a Rusch balloon, which prevents vessels bleeding.
She said: ‘They left it in for four hours but when they tried to take it out, I just starting bleeding a lot. I could feel the blood pouring out of me and my blood pressure was dropping massively.’
Debbie was raced back to theatre where her bleeding continued for hours, resulting in her being rushed to St James’s Hospital in Leeds.
She said: ‘Jonathan had gone out for a walk and as he was coming back in, he saw the nurses running out saying, “We’re moving her. Where is the husband?” as they wheeled me into an ambulance.
‘They told him they were taking me to St James’ Hospital and they would meet him there. He got there in about 20 minutes, but it took the ambulance over an hour because they couldn’t control the bleeding and get me stabilized.’
Arriving at St James’ around midnight, Debbie was taken straight to theatre where doctors continued to try to save her life for three hours.
She said: ‘Jonathan was waiting outside and the nurse just kept coming in and out to get more blood. Essentially, every drop of blood in my body was replaced.’
‘I was in a coma but, though I couldn’t move or speak, I knew what was going on. The doctors told me it can happen but it’s quite rare.
‘It was the most frightening moment of my life because I didn’t know if I was ever going to come out of it. I just wanted to speak but I couldn’t.
‘I had gone from desperate for a baby to just desperate to be alive.’
After two days, Debbie was taken to a general ward and monitored.
There, they discovered she had suffered the rare pregnancy complication placenta percreta.
Her placenta had attached itself to the c-section scar from her first pregnancy, and first grown in the gap between her uterus and bladder, before eventually extending through the bladder.
Debbie suffered life-threatening bleeding, which required doctors put her in a coma
She also had a blood transfusion, saying ‘every drop of blood in my body was replaced’
Although now recovered, Debbie is still in excruciating pain and has bladder damage
Debbie learnt the baby’s heart had stopped on holiday but carried on for her children
‘I have missed weeks of my kids’ lives’
Debbie said: ‘They told me it is so rare and none of the doctors had ever treated anything like this before. I have been told that I will become a case for medical journals and textbooks.
‘I felt lucky to be alive but was petrified about the surgery I was still facing.’
The following day, Debbie was taken back to theatre, where surgeons worked to remove as much of her placenta as possible without damaging her bladder.
The operation was a success and Debbie recovered able to go home . Although she is still in a lot of pain, doctors hope there will be no lasting damage.
She said: ‘They still don’t know for sure if my bladder will go back to normal but I am reasonably young, fit and healthy and we hope it will.
‘I have missed weeks of my kids’ lives – things like seeing them go back to school. I know they are fine and are being cared for but I just want to be their mum and go home to them. I can’t wait to enjoy tiny little things like reading a bedtime stories to my kids.
‘Throughout everything, Jonathan has been incredible. He hasn’t left my side, other than to sleep. He was meant to go on tour in Ireland but he postponed the shows for the first time ever because he was scared about what was happening.
In the UK, the operation to remove the foetus took two hours as Debbie was bleeding heavily
Debbie has been told she will be studied in medical journals as the complication is so rare
Doctors managed to remove the placenta with minimal damage (pictured with mother Wendy)
Yet, it is unclear if her bladder will ever fully recover after the placenta grew through it
‘I didn’t want to spoil the holiday for the kids’
When Debbie was just 10-weeks pregnant, her, Jonathan and their children went on holiday to Lanzarote.
Early in Debbie’s pregnancy, she suffered some bleeding but an ultrasound scan revealed no cause for concern.
Yet, three days into their holiday, Debbie started bleeding again. Concerned, she went to a local doctor for an ultrasound.
Debbie said: ‘The doctor scanned me and said that he could see a heartbeat, but it was very slow and the foetus wasn’t moving. He wanted me to go to the bigger hospital in the capital Arrecife.
‘We got there and had a scan but unfortunately after a few minutes, the doctor said there was no heartbeat.’
For 10 days, Debbie and Jonathan remained on the island with their children.
Debbie said: ‘I put on a brave face. We hadn’t told anyone about the pregnancy. It was really hard and there were moments when I was very sad but I didn’t want to spoil the holiday for the kids.’
Early in her pregnancy, she suffered some bleeding but a scan revealed no cause for concern
Three days into the holiday, Debbie started bleeding. Concerned, she went to a local doctor
For 10 days, she remained on the island with her family, despite the miscarriage