A mother who almost died from caesarean section complications has been reunited with the paramedics who saved her.

Sophie Turner, 33, gave birth to her daughter, Annie, on February 13, 2023, and was resting at home six days later when she nearly lost her life.

The mother-of-two, from Hassocks, had been experiencing extreme pain following her caesarean section, alongside increasing swelling and bruising.

Sophie got up to use the bathroom a few days after giving birth, on February 19, when her caesarean section burst open.

Sophie said: “I was absolutely terrified; I was 100% certain I was about to die.

“I’ve never been so scared in my whole life. My husband was there with our six-day-old baby and our six-year-old son was asleep in the room next door.”

“I also delivered my son Freddie via caesarean section and so I knew what type of pain to expect in the days and weeks following but what I went on to experience was nothing short of traumatising.

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“From the moment I was discharged from hospital I knew something wasn’t quite right.

Sophie’s husband, Alex, phoned 999 and an ambulance was dispatched to their home, which arrived minutes later.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) Critical care paramedic Gerry Davis, ambulance paramedic Natalie Goodman, student paramedic Sara Graham and trainee associate ambulance practitioner Alexandra Lawler arrived on scene to assist Sophie.

The team calmed the couple and secured Sophie’s bowels and intestines to transport her to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

Alexandra said: "This was only my third shift with Secamb and so it was an extreme eye opener into major trauma.

“We tried our best to keep Sophie calm and reassure her that she was in the best hands.”

Sophie, her husband Alex, son Freddie, daughter Annie and mother Alicia were recently reunited with the crew that saved Sophie’s life at Secamb’s Make Ready Centre in Brighton.

Sophie also met the 999-call handler who spoke to her at the time of the incident, Charlotte Bassett.

Charlotte said: “As a 999-call handler, it’s rare we ever get to find out the outcome of a call, and so I often find myself making up positive endings for them all.

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“It was an absolute pleasure to meet Sophie and her family in person and to hear their story.

“It was amazing to see her so positive and doing well.”

Sophie said: “I never really got the chance to thank them so much for everything they did to help me on that evening.

“I think of this experience every single day and I always think of the ambulance crew who were so kind and amazing to me.

“I feel so grateful to be alive and to be a mummy to my babies, as things could have been so much different. This is all thanks to the incredible crew.

“Sophie said: “I am an at-home hairdresser, which means I often wash my client’s hair in my bathroom where the incident happened.

“When I close my eyes, I relive the event and can see the crew there in my bathroom, trying so hard to save my life.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about what happened.”