Daily Positivity: 100 transfusions and 4 months later, miracle mom alive and well
Article published Feb 10, 2008
Michelle Yoon is living a life fueled by other people’s blood.
In late September, a rare combination of birth complications prevented Yoon’s blood from clotting during labor, and Guam Memorial Hospital doctors gave her more than 100 transfusions of blood, platelets and plasma to keep her alive — replacing every red drop in her body.
Today, Yoon and her chubby, chatty infant son Alex are perfectly healthy. She has been out of the hospital since mid-November and expects to return to her job as a diving instructor at the end of the year. Her family is finally breathing easy again.
Not bad for a patient who had a 1 percent chance of survival.
“For a patient to need so many transfusions and survive is so rare, especially on a tiny island like Guam — it’s a miracle,” said Dr. Thomas Shieh, Yoon’s physician. “After all it took to get him here, I think her son is going to grow up to be someone special.”
Yoon still has trouble comprehending how close she was to the brink before doctors hauled her back. Her memory of her son’s birth is foggy, but one message is clear.
“I can’t say any words that mean how it felt,” she said. “But, I think I want (Alex) to grow up to be a person who works for God.”
Yoon’s hospital stay shattered GMH’s old transfusion record, which according to pathologist Dr. Philip Dauterman was about 65 transfusions. The GMH blood bank’s weekly shipment is enough for about 50 to 60 transfusions.
To keep Yoon’s transfusions from draining GMH’s blood bank, more than 40 people donated blood Sept. 20 and 21 after Yoon’s brother-in-law, James Oh, used a Korean broadcasting channel to recruit donors from the community. The response was inspiring.
Yesterday, Yoon said the donors did more than save her life — they changed it.
“I am so happy I got so many people’s blood. I feel loved and I love others,” she said. “Even strangers came to give blood. … Before what happened to me, I didn’t think much about how to love other people outside my family. Now I want to help everyone, even strangers.”
As soon as she is healthy enough, Yoon plans to begin to donate blood regularly. She also planned to volunteer at the hospital to visit and entertain the sick. She said she would raise Alex to do the same. …..
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