While travelling overseas, a 28-year-old mum and her unborn child died after a rare disease claimed their lives.
Natasha Angie and her husband John Shaw, from Adelaide, were in Las Vegas on the trip of a lifetime while Natasha was 26 weeks pregnant with their fourth baby.
It was there that she suddenly and tragically developed HELLP, a condition that occurs in the later stages of pregnancy. It is a rapidly progressive form of pre-eclampsia characterised by high blood pressure.
Telling News3LV, distraught John said Natasha had been suffering migraines and abdominal pain for three days and then became unresponsive, seeming to have stroke-like symptoms.
He called the ambulance and she was taken to a hospital in Vegas.
John said: “On the ambulance bed, when she was taken out of the room, I told her I love you. She said I love you back to me twice, and they were the last words that came out of her mouth.”
“The baby was already deceased when it came out. I got to hold him for a few hours and get some memories with him. Then he was brought to the morgue. She never ever knew what was going on.”
Natasha, or ‘Minnie’ as she was affectionately known, was put on life support but sadly died. Her family in Adelaide were informed of the tragic news, where her mother Rosalind Karpany is looking after her three children – Josiah, eight, Jaquon, three and Kyeesha, 10.
Rosalind told the Yass Tribune: “The family back here have been supporting the children financially and caring for them, we are trying to get support for John for when he comes back because there will be hard times ahead.”
“It’s just getting our heads around it and with the children, it’s just so upsetting, you don’t expect it to happen.”
The next struggle will be getting John home with Natasha and their still-born baby.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to help cover the costs of bringing them all home to have their final goodbyes.
“I’m just trying to get by day by day,” John told the Advertiser.
“I will miss having Natasha around and that smile.
“I just want to get her and our son home with me so they can be laid to rest and their family can say goodbye. Any help we can get … would be deeply appreciated.”
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