Published: February 20, 2025 | Updated: February 21, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Reviewed by Maria R. Schweichler, M.D., Bassel Alkhalil, M.D., and Maroun M. Ghossein M.D.
Cassandra and Carlton Moore prepared to welcome their third child in late August. This was another milestone in their love story that started when the two first met at Noe Middle School in Louisville. They have been together for nearly 30 years. Having had two babies already, they thought they knew what to expect as they headed for the hospital for a planned cesarean section.
Everything was going as just as planned, until it wasn’t. Baby girl Indigo arrived, and Carlton took a quick peek. When he looked toward Cassandra, he saw she was no longer awake.
Monitors started beeping, and the staff began working together to save Cassandra’s life, doing chest compressions to try to resuscitate her. Teams from throughout the hospital poured in, delivering blood and medications and assisting in any way possible.
Cassandra had experienced an amniotic fluid embolism, where amniotic fluid enters the bloodstream. The cause is not known, but it’s extremely serious and life-threatening. It can happen without warning, and very few people survive.
“An amniotic fluid embolism is not a common event, but when it happens, it’s devastating and it’s hard for everyone,” said Maria R. Schweichler, M.D., an OB/GYN with Norton Women’s Care who is Cassandra’s obstetrician. “We knew instantly what had happened and began chest compressions.”
After 20 minutes, Cassandra’s heart started again, and she was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) — where her heart stopped again. This time the team worked again to revive her. The team at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital did not give up. Cassandra also experienced a stroke, and her heart was beginning to fail.
“You can’t wrap your mind around the situation,” Carlton said. “Thinking what could happen but not wanting to …”
“We kept chest compressions going until we were able to get enough blood and platelets in her that she had a pulse,” Dr. Schweichler said. “We just all took turns and rotated. Everyone was amazing.
“Everyone said, ‘She’s healthy; she’s young. We can save her.’ And that’s how everybody felt. So we just kept doing it.”
After 40 minutes, Cassandra’s heart started again.
The advanced heart failure team from Norton Heart & Vascular Institute arrived to help the Norton Healthcare Adult Transport Team take Cassandra to Norton Audubon Hospital. There, she was placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a machine that takes over for the heart and lungs and allows the body to heal. She also needed dialysis to help her kidneys regain function.
Cassandra’s condition was grave.
“It is hard to describe how sick she was,” said Maroun M. Ghossein, M.D., a pulmonary critical care physician with Norton Pulmonary Specialists. “I think it’s best to describe it on a scale of 1 to 10, and she was well off the scale.”
“She was definitely the sickest person in Louisville that day,” said Bassel Alkhalil, M.D., cardiologist with the Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Advanced Heart Failure & Recovery Program. “We were really worried that she would not be herself if and when she woke up.”
Over the next three weeks, Dr. Schweichler and others from the team at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital continued to visit and provide support and encouragement. The Norton Audubon Hospital ICU team went above and beyond, learning how to help Cassandra. Carlton knew that Cassandra, who is both an occupational therapist and a lactation consultant, wanted to be able to breastfeed their daughter.
“We had nurses who had never had a child before, and they’re [saying], ‘Show me what I’m doing,” said Sandy Corbin, R.N., a registered nurse in the Norton Audubon Hospital ICU. “We had communication with Norton Women & Children’s Hospital lactation consultants. We learned how to help Cassandra pump. We helped with skin-to-skin contact, even when Cassandra was still on ECMO.
“When I saw Cassandra move her hand, gently cupping Indigo’s head, I knew she was there,” Sandy said.
After a few weeks, Cassandra regained consciousness. At first, she began moving and opening her eyes. Then she began focusing and looking around.
“Just all of a sudden the light turned on and, you could see her personality starting to come back,” Dr. Alkhalil said.
“When we were able to, we got Cassandra up and took her outside in a special chair,” Sandy said. “When she moved into our medical ICU from the cardiac ICU, we knew she was going to be there awhile, so we put her in one of the front rooms that has the big windows that look out over top of the park, and you have more trees and scenery. We needed as much stimulation as we could for her.”
In all, more than 20 different departments between the two hospitals worked to save Cassandra.
“It is an army of people who took care of her,” Dr. Alkhalil said. “Medicine has become so specialized, and the human body is so complex, but one person, one discipline, one service is not enough. So you really need all the expertise to take care of those patients.”
After five weeks, Cassandra was able to start rehabilitation. After eight weeks, she was home with her family.
The Moores now have a new outlook on life.
“When I think about it, I’m in disbelief that I was able to get through all of that. It’s thanks to so many people who offered support — the teams at the hospitals and my family,” Cassandra said. “I’m so thankful for everything.”