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Mother who had a heart transplant dies after giving birth

A 31-year-old woman from Nashville, who once survived a heart transplant, died a few hours after delivering a healthy baby daughter. The official cause of death is still unknown.

Everything seemed to go great. Megan Moss Johnson had an absolutely normal delivery. She greeted her baby daughter, Eilee Kate, held her in her arms and fed her. She was in a stable condition, according to Megan’s husband, Nathan. However, everything changed suddenly after Megan had complications and died a few hours later.

Megan Moss Johnson. Image credit: Daily.nhely.hu

“Happy Birthday Eilee Kate Johnson,” wrote Nathan Johnson before his wife died. “Megan was/is a professional and feels great. Her heart worked perfectly the whole time and Eilee introduced herself quickly and smooth. I am a rich man!!!”

Megan’s Heart was a gift of Life

Megan Moss a Missouri native, received a new heart seven years ago. She contracted a virus that made her suffer from myocarditis when she was just 15. Myocarditis is a fatal heart disease that inflames the heart. Later, when she was 23 he had to go through a heart transplant at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis because she had congestive heart failure. She made her story public through a blog and a book that were called ‘Megan’s Heart’.

“I never thought about being an organ donor until I needed one,” Megan Moss Johnson said back then. “It can save lives. It saved mine. It’s the gift of life.”

A year after that, she married the love of her life, Nathan Johnson, and moved to Nashville with him. Nathan is a Christian music artist, who produces his own music. He is quite known locally as a solo artist. As well, he has played the guitar for outstanding musicians such as the Grammy winner Francesca Battistelli and Mat Kearney.

They wanted to have kids, but they didn’t know if that might bring complications associated with her heart condition. A friend of the Johnsons, Josh Wilson, said that doctors told Megan that being pregnant was not an issue; her pregnancy and her health were carefully monitored during the nine months and after she delivered her baby daughter.

Megan and Nathan Johnson with their daughter Eilee Kate. Image credit: Erie News Now

The cause of death is unknown

The Johnsons became parents for the first time around 3 a.m. on Tuesday. Nathan said later that day that her wife’s heart worked perfectly as she gave birth. He also posted pictures of this marvelous moment on his social networks. Nothing was apparently wrong with Megan before, during, and after the delivery. They were really excited that they couldn’t sleep spending time with her baby and friends.

“It was to the point [after the delivery] where their parents and grandparents said: we are going to go sleep, we will see you in the morning,” Nathan said.

At 10 a.m., Megan started showing bad symptoms and died around 11 a.m. Doctors say that her death was not linked to her heart, so the cause of death has not been yet identified.

Though doctors kept an eye on her pregnancy, women who receive heart transplants can develop certain complications when delivering a baby, according to the American Heart Association.

Nathan is deeply devastated

Wilson stated that Nathan is completely devastated. He was so happy for receiving a healthy little girl, but cannot cope with her wife’s sudden death. That is why, Wilson, who is also a musician, decided to help her friend by creating a GoFundMe page to raise money for Nathan and her little Eilee Kate; so Nathan can be off the roads to center his attention on her daughter since her mother is not with them anymore.

“Nathan is devastated,” Wilson wrote on a GoFundMe page that he set up for the family. “There are no words for this, so I won’t really say much more. Here is what I know. Nathan is a wonderful man and an amazing father. He loves his daughter dearly. “

Wilson also confessed that there is a profound grief due to Megan’s death because she was such a happy person who loved everyone and who had great faith in Jesus.

About $380,000 has been raised for food, education, and pay bills thanks to donations from different parts of the United States and the world.

A lot of artists have supported Nathan’s family by spreading this information so that he can receive more support. After seeing how supportive people have been through GoFundMe, Nathan said that he had to call friends to thank them.

Megan will save 50 lives even after her death

Since Megan had the transplant, she became an avid supporter of organ donation; so she decided to become a donor and give away all of her organs. Her organs will save about 50 people, which means that lots of lives are going to be changed even after her death.

The funeral for Megan Moss Johnson will be on Sunday in St. Louis.

Source: CNN

Categories: Health
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