Nevaeh Crain was 18 years old and had her whole life ahead of her. Freshly graduated from high school, this young woman from Texas was expecting a child with her longtime partner, Randall Broussard. This desired pregnancy, full of hope and budding love, would descend into horror. The moving story of her last days lived in October 2023, revealed by an investigation by the investigative media ProPublica, sheds light on the tragic consequences of the prohibition of abortion in Texas.
The drama begins during the couple’s baby shower on October 28, 2023. What was supposed to be a day of celebration quickly turns into a nightmare when Nevaeh shows the first symptoms: headache, nausea, fever. Her condition deteriorated to the point that her family encouraged her to seek emergency treatment at Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas, where she waited for four hours before being diagnosed with simple strep throat, a diagnosis that proved tragically insufficient. Nevaeh is sent home with a prescription for antibiotics.
The situation worsened during the night, pushing the young woman and her loved ones to go to a second hospital, Christus Southeast Texas St. Elizabeth. Around 4:20 a.m., Dr. William Hawkins – whose professional past is already tainted by serious medical errors – notices that his patient has a temperature of 40.4°C and an abnormally high pulse. A nurse notes that Nevaeh rates her abdominal pain at 7 out of 10. All of these vital signs indicate possible sepsis. In the obstetric emergency room, a nurse checks the fetal heartbeat and confirms its good health.
Despite two hours of infusion, a dose of antibiotics and Tylenol, the young woman’s condition does not improve: her fever persists, her pulse remains high and the fetal heart rate is abnormally rapid,…
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