Wife was ‘unrecognisable’ after giving birth, husband tells inquest

A 35-year-old Leitrim man told an inquest today that his wife was unrecognisable when he saw her hours after their baby was born at Sligo Regional Hospital in September 2010.

Michael Kivlehan told a coroner's court in Carrick- on-Shannon that the first time he saw his wife Dhara following a caesarean section, she was unconscious, her entire body was swollen and there was an orange tone to her skin colour.

Dhara Kivlehan (29) died in Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital on September 28th 2010 , four days after being airlifted from Sligo Regional Hospital where she had given birth to her first baby, a boy called Dior.

“I lost the light of my life the day Dhara died”, Mr Kivlehan said.

Roger Murray solicitor for the Kivlehan family pointed out that the inquest was taking place the day after Dior’s fourth birthday and that by a “coincidence of fate” Dhara’s anniversary occurs this week.

In a statement to the inquest Mr Kivlehan said his wife was due to be induced on September 22th but was admitted to Sligo hospital two days earlier with extremely swollen ankles. Her medical chart could not be found for two hours. She was eventually admitted and he went to to work, but got a call from the hospital in the early hours.

He was asked to sign a consent form and when he went to read it was told it was urgent as his wife was suffering from HELLP Hellp (Haemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes and Low Platelets) which is associated with severe pre-eclampsia. “I was bullied into signing it”, he said in evidence.

Mr Kivlehan was told that when his wife was brought to theatre he was told she would be going to the ICU. He did not see her until 11.30 am and was surprised that she was back in the maternity ward and not in the ICU. Dhara was in a darkened room, was unconscious and was completely unrecognisable, he said. Her face was puffy, her entire body was swollen and she had a jaundiced look. He pointed out the colour of her skin to staff.

Mr Kivlehan said he asked Dr Seamus Crowley if his wife had jaundice and was told it was hard to tell with someone who was Indian. “I was too stunned to respond,” he said.

The jury heard that Dr Crowley would say that he told Mr Kivlehan that jaundice was easier to diagnose in someone with a pale complexion and that blood tests were the way to diagnose the condition.

Mr Kivlehan said he tried to engage Dr Crowley in conversation and ask why his wife had not been transferred to the ICU. Under cross examination by Ms Adrenne Egan SC for the HSE, Mr Kivlehan said he was disgusted at the way Dr Crowley spoke to him. He said the doctor would not give his name.

He said his wife was transferred to the ICU after two days and he was told that the worst case scenario was that she would need kidney dialysis.

The following day he was told “it was most likely Dhara would die”.

The inquest also heard that when Mr Kivlehan left his wife’s bedside hoping to speak to doctors, a nurse told him to “stop eavesdropping”. She grabbed him by the arm “quite forcefully” and told him if he wanted to make himself useful he could get his wife a drink. He was gone for 15 minutes and when he came back the doctors were gone

At today’s inquest Mr Kivlehan was accompanied at the inquest by his parents and by Sean Rowlette whose wife Sally (36) from Dromore West, Co Sligo, died on February 5th 2013 after giving birth to her fourth child at Sligo hospital.

The inquest continues.