WMUR.com is reporting that Erica Nigrelli, an English teacher at Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, was 36 weeks pregnant when she walked into a co-worker's classroom and complained of feeling faint.
"Apparently I told her 'I feel very faint,' and I put my head down and essentially just passed out," Erica said.
She did more than just pass out, however. Her heart stopped and quick-thinking co-workers immediately started CPR until paramedics arrived to take over.
Erica was rushed to the hospital where doctors hurriedly delivered her baby girl, Elayna, by emergency caesarean section. Because Erica's heart wasn't beating at the time, it was technically a "post-mortum" delivery.
However, doctors were able to restart her heart and learned that the young mother had an undetected heart defect known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition where heart muscle walls become abnormally thick. Erica was given a pacemaker and spent several weeks in intensive care.
Meanwhile, baby Elayna is three months old and weights nine pounds. She still requires oxygen support but is expected to be taken off of it soon.
Doctors say both mother and child are thriving and should both go on to live long and healthy lives.
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