The husband of nursing influencer Hailey Okula said she died of a rare complication after giving birth to their son and first child, Crew.
In an interview with FOX 11 Los Angeles, Matthew Okula said Hailey, an ER nurse known on Instagram as Nurse Hailey, gave birth via C-section on Saturday. Shortly afterward, he said a doctor informed him they were doing CPR on her.
"She went into cardiac arrest and the doctors say it was from a very, very rare complication known as amniotic fluid embolism," Okula said.
The LAFD firefighter was visibly emotional as he recalled losing his wife, saying, "She gave her life in the most noble way."
"She was able to see him for a split second, and I'm always going to remember that," he said about Hailey and their son.
On Friday, Matthew continued to honor the memory of his late wife, sharing some “raw, unedited” videos from their wedding on Hailey's Instagram story. The videos included their first dance and footage of them dancing with loved ones.
"I want everyone to see a little more into who Hailey was outside of Rnnewgrads," Matthew captioned one of the videos.
Hailey founded RN New Grads in 2019 to support new nurses by providing information on how to launch their careers. The nurse also shared about how she and her husband struggled with fertility before getting pregnant with their first child.
In a Wednesday Instagram post, Matthew recalled how Hailey poured her soul into her career.
"She dreamed of helping new nurses thrive while also being present for our sweet Crew, building a life and legacy she was so proud of," Matthew wrote.
What is an amniotic fluid embolism?
An amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is an anaphylactic reaction that happens when the fluid inside the uterus gets into the bloodstream of a pregnant person before, during or after childbirth, according to Dr. Erin Higgins, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospitals.
"The body sees this as, like, kind of as an intruder, you know, just like any infection," Higgins told NBC News. "But, it can lead to cardiopulmonary collapse, so the blood pressure goes down, the heart rate doesn't respond appropriately, and patients become short of breath."
Higgins said AFE commonly causes cardiac arrest and hypotension and can lead to heavy bleeding, heart failure, kidney damage, and liver damage.
Higgins said the condition is extremely rare, occurring two to six times in 100,000 deliveries, and the cause is unknown.
"Probably one of the scariest things about it is that we don't know," Higgins said. "We can't, you know, like with so many other things in pregnancy, we can say that somebody has certain risk factors for pregnancy complications. Like somebody with high blood pressure outside of pregnancy is going to be at higher risk for preeclampsia."
AFE is also very hard to diagnose before it happens, and a patient's condition can worsen very quickly once symptoms kick in, Higgins said. There's also "general agreement among the experts that no recognizable risk factors for AFE exist."
"It often happens very quickly, and patients go from fine to having this cardiopulmonary collapse," Higgins said.
Higgins added that the mortality rate for the condition is anywhere from 10 to 90%, and it is not known why some die from it while others don't. Quick initiation of CPR and having a team that responds quickly once AFE is identified is key, she said.
Matthew recalled to FOX 11 Los Angeles the moments after he found out his wife was inflicted with the complication.
"I’m making the decision — am I going to the ICU with my wife, or am I staying to wait for my newborn little baby," he said. "Not the decision we thought I would be making."
On Instagram, Matthew said his wife's love for their baby "was limitless, long before he entered this world."
"She would have been the most amazing mom," he wrote. "Her spirit, courage, and love will live on in our son, and through everyone whose lives she touched."
