Liana Halloran was a high-school student keen to skip class when she first donated blood, never expecting that she would ever be on the receiving end. But just days after the birth of her first child, Liana was in urgent need of her own life-saving top-up when a scan showed a massive pooling of blood in her abdomen.
Remembering the day she almost lost her life, Liana, 35, explains that years of managing chronic illness – she has Crohn’s disease and endometriosis ‒ have given her a high tolerance to pain. But in the hours following the planned Caesarean section birth of her son Cathail in 2019, Liana was shocked by the pain.
“I told the nurses, ‘Something’s wrong! I’m in agony, I can’t sit up.’”
Initially, the medical professionals thought a urinary tract infection was to blame. But 36 hours post-birth, Liana knew something was seriously wrong.
“I was begging for pain relief, which was really out of character for me.”
She recalls spending a painstaking 20 minutes to pull herself out of bed.
“Then I fainted and all hell broke loose.”
A sudden medical emergency
Her husband Murt arrived soon after to find his wife being wheeled out for a CT scan. Passing their newborn son to a confused and worried Murt, Liana disappeared down the hall. The scan revealed a staggering 2.4 litres of blood was pooling inside her abdomen, with the cause of the bleed unknown.
“I knew that wasn’t good, but it wasn’t till I googled it later that I realised losing that much blood is nearly fatal,” shares Liana, who spoke to the Weekly about her ordeal for National Blood Donor Week.
Liana was rushed into her second surgery in as many days, where the bleed was contained and drained. She received four units of donated red blood cells. Her first thought on waking was, “Please tell
my husband I’m okay.”
Her husband by her side
Through everything, Murt, 42, has been her rock. Liana was in her early twenties when he pulled up at 3am to the McDonald’s drive-through where she worked and asked for her phone number.
“He messaged me before he’d left the car park,” laughs Liana.
“We had our first date a week later and after about a month, I moved in with him and had to quit my job because I was too sick.”
Liana was soon diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-term swelling, irritation and ulcers along the digestive tract. Trialling different medications, she also learned the disease would affect the couple starting a family. Liana was told natural birth wouldn’t be an option for her because of the risk of tearing in a vaginal labour causing damage to Crohn’s-affected tissue.
Coming to terms with change
She understood that a C-section was the only way, but the news took a while to process as she’d always imagined having home births and Murt had been vocal from their first date that he wanted a football team of kids one day.
Seeing how blood donors had saved Liana’s life has since inspired Murt to start donating.
Explaining this commitment to Liana, he says, “You needed it and it only seems right that I give it back.”
According to the New Zealand Blood Service, every 18 minutes someone in Aotearoa needs blood or blood products, yet only four percent of the eligible population are donors. As an O-negative type universal donor, Murt’s contributions are incredibly helpful.
Liana shares, “As soon as his stand-down period is over, Murt’s booked in to donate again.”
A second chance at family life
Despite the health risks involved in growing their family, the couple decided to have one more child. Thankfully, there were no bleeding complications when their daughter was born three years after their son. Although, Liana laughs, once again her high pain tolerance contributed to more drama than expected.
During a pregnancy check-up at around 37 weeks, it was discovered Liana was already in labour.
“I thought maybe it was just Braxton Hicks [practice contractions],” laughs Liana.
Instead, she was rushed in for a C-section before her real labour progressed further. Liana talks openly with her children Cathail, seven, and Saoirse, four, about the role blood donors have played in their family’s story. One day, she hopes they’ll continue the tradition and become donors themselves.
“I’m glad I have donated because now I understand I’ve been able to save somebody else’s life in the same way mine was saved,” enthuses Liana.
“My family wouldn’t be what it is now without donors. My daughter and I wouldn’t be here.”
National Blood Donor Week runs from June 8 to 14.
Download the NZ Blood Service Donor app, visit nzblood.co.nz or call 0800 448 325 to donate.
