A mother-to-be woke up to the most heart-wrenching sight on the day of her c-section.
Rebecca Moss was expecting to deliver her first child with partner Thomas Gibson, 40, that day, going over to him after waking up at 5:15am to say 'wake up, it's baby day.'
However, she quickly realised that he was unresponsive, and tried to give emergency first aid to her husband before an ambulance arrived and pronounced him dead, Stockport Coroner's Court heard.
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Rebecca, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, was then forced to make her way to the hospital to give birth to their daughter, Harper, alone.
Rebecca told the hearing that she woke up early on 7 June, 2023, and went downstairs.
She explained that she was trying to cheer him up by reminding him that it was 'baby day', but he didn't respond.
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“Tom didn’t respond, so I went over to the couch to give him a kiss. He was lying in his usual sleeping position,” she explained.
“When I touched him, he was cold and stiff. He wouldn’t wake up.
“I called 999 immediately. They asked me to pull Tom on to the floor and perform chest compressions. I started chest compressions until the ambulance arrived.
“The shock, trauma and not to mention the physical exertion of having to pull Tom off the couch and perform chest compressions at 39 weeks pregnant was overwhelming,” she said.
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During the inquest into Tom's death, a hospital doctor stated that he misinterpreted an electrocardiogram scan that they did 11 days prior to his death, when he went to A&E at Wythenshawe Hospital after coming down with a severe stomach bug.
Rebecca said that Tom was 'caring, charming and funny', and that he was excited to become a father, building furniture every weekend.
She heartbreakingly revealed that Harper will be celebrating her first birthday this Friday without her father.
She tearfully pointed out that he'll miss every birthday, Father's Day and Christmas morning, and that her daughter will visit his grave once she is old enough to understand.
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The mother also revealed that they say good night to a photo of him everyday, and that her daughter has a quilt made of her father's favourite jumpers.
Tom Gibson worked in a timber yard and was physically fit, the inquest heard, though he has been suffering from a stomach bug with symptoms including cramps and diarrhoea for three weeks prior to his death.
He was seen by Dr Oliver Handley, who passed the case to a more senior medic as Tom's ECG trace showed signs of abnormality.
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Dr Thomas Bull gave a second opinion, concluding that the scan likely showed an abnormality he described as an intraventricular block, which was not clinically 'significant' and was 'not an uncommon finding' as long as it isn't accompanied by other heart symptoms.
Dr Bull stated: “I advised if there’s no heart symptoms generally then that would not require any investigation at this time.”
However, later analysis revealed that the ECG showed a complete heart block, known as a third-degree heart block, which is the most severe type as it can likely lead to sudden cardiac arrest, according to the family's lawyers.
“I can see now, in retrospect and in hindsight, there is abnormalities over and above those I could see present,” Dr Bull said.
Tom was discharged as they deemed that no treatment was necessary, and was told to come back in a week if his illness had not improved.
A pathologist concluded that he died from sudden cardiac arrest.
Dr Matthew Thornber, who is a consultant at the hospital, believes that the two ECGs taken were not 'textbook' examples of looking like a heart block condition, with a diagnosis usually requiring experience.
He added: “This is not a barn door easy miss.”
The inquest is ongoing.
Joshua Nair