What was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life nearly became her last. A mother from Texas came frighteningly close to death while giving birth to triplets — and in the aftermath, she said she has no memory of the experience whatsoever.

Marisa Christie and her husband, Dylan, are now navigating a beautifully hectic home life, raising four young children all under the age of five — including their newest additions: identical triplet girls born in late August. But their journey into parenthood this time around took a terrifying and unexpected turn.

Shortly after delivering her babies, Marisa’s condition rapidly deteriorated. In just 45 minutes, she flatlined multiple times, sending the delivery room into a panic as doctors and nurses fought desperately to keep her alive.

Dylan described the experience as a moment of unimaginable emotional whiplash — the joy of meeting his daughters for the first time was instantly replaced by the horror of watching his wife’s life hang in the balance.

“It was the most intense and heart-wrenching moment I’ve ever lived through,” Dylan said. “One second, I was crying tears of joy holding our beautiful girls, and the next, I was watching the medical team perform CPR on my wife, wondering if I was going to lose her.”

Dr. Amber Samuel, a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine who was part of Marisa’s care team, later confirmed that she had suffered from a rare and dangerous complication known as amniotic fluid embolism — a sudden and unpredictable reaction where the mother’s body essentially goes into shock, similar to a severe allergic response, after being exposed to amniotic fluid during labor.

In a critical decision to save her life, Dylan had to consent to an emergency hysterectomy — a devastating choice, but one that ultimately gave Marisa a second chance at life.

When she finally regained consciousness, Marisa was met with an emotional void — she couldn’t remember the delivery at all. “It’s like I just woke up and everyone told me I had three new babies,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I had given birth.”

To help her piece together what had happened, Marisa’s family documented her time in the hospital through photos and videos. “Seeing those images helped me understand just how serious things were and slowly come to terms with the fact that I survived something so traumatic,” she added.

Her recovery was far from easy. Marisa had to relearn basic motor skills, including how to walk, all while adjusting to life with newborn triplets. But she and her family found moments of joy in the chaos — especially when their baby girls were finally discharged from the NICU and welcomed home.

Nurses from both the ICU and NICU celebrated the family’s incredible resilience and strength, marveling at how far they had come after nearly losing everything.

Looking back, Marisa remains deeply grateful. “There’s no doubt in my mind — if I hadn’t been at that hospital, surrounded by those doctors and nurses, I wouldn’t be here today.”