A teacher from Yorkshire who was living in Phuket, Thailand, has shared her experience of a rare pregnancy complication that forced her to deliver her baby at 33 weeks and spend 12 days in intensive care.
Maddison Carter, 36, recalled waking at 4am on March 30, 2025, with sudden severe neck pain, nausea and vomiting. Checking her blood pressure, it read 160 – elevated above the normal range of 90 to 130. By the time her partner Aaron Dempsey woke, it had climbed to 170, prompting them to go to Bangkok Hospital Siriroj in Phuket.
HELLP Syndrome Discovery
Carter did not know she was suffering from HELLP syndrome, a rare form of pre-eclampsia affecting fewer than 1% of pregnancies that damages the blood and liver and requires urgent medical intervention. She was admitted immediately and placed on drips to control her blood pressure, then told her baby would need to be delivered prematurely at 33 weeks.
By April 3, her blood pressure had soared to 220, and she underwent an emergency caesarean section. Her daughter, Coco, was born and taken to a sick newborn unit. Both were monitored closely before being allowed home a week after the birth. Carter was on a large number of blood pressure tablets for a month afterward.
Full Severity Revealed
It was during a follow-up appointment with her regular doctor that Carter learned she had HELLP syndrome and that Coco had been treated for life-threatening sepsis. Carter said: 'I look back and it's one of those things where I ask myself if it really happened. Fortunately, me and Coco are both fine now.'
She added: 'If this story makes a pregnant lady think about the pain in her neck that doesn't make sense and she goes to get it checked out, I think that's important.'
Carter and Dempsey had been delighted to learn she was pregnant in September 2024, but from the onset she experienced constant morning sickness. At a 22-week scan in January 2025, a doctor asked if she had a family history of pre-eclampsia because her blood pressure was slightly elevated. She did not, so she attributed it to work stress. Her blood pressure remained high, and she was given medication and asked to monitor it at home.
Hospitalisation and Birth
On March 30, after her blood pressure rose, she went to hospital. She was put on a magnesium drip, which made her body feel like it was 'cooking from the inside', and then told she was having contractions. Due to financial constraints, she moved to a local Thai hospital better equipped for an early birth. Doctors tried to keep the baby until 34 weeks, but on the night of April 3, her blood pressure hit 220 and an emergency C-section was performed. Carter signed consent forms in Thai, and Dempsey was not allowed to attend. After the birth, her neck pain persisted, her headache was excruciating, her abdomen swollen, and she struggled to breathe. She was told she had fluid in her lungs, her liver was failing, and doctors were monitoring for blood clots and low platelets. She first saw her baby on the evening of April 6.
Recovery and Awareness
During a routine check-up, Carter was finally told she had HELLP syndrome. A spokesperson for Action on Pre-eclampsia explained that the condition stands for Haemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count and can quickly become life-threatening. Carter said: 'I just had no clue how dangerous it was. I'm still not sure if I've processed it.'
Both mother and daughter have been given the all-clear, with no lasting issues. Doctors have recommended against more children due to high-risk pregnancy, but the couple may try in Ireland, where they now live. Carter is running the 2027 London Marathon for Action on Pre-eclampsia.
