Mum's five haunting words before she was wheeled into surgery and never came out

19 August 2023 , 19:27

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Sabine's family have been devastated after she died during a C-section (Image: FOCUS FEATURES)

The partner of a young mum who died during a C-section has opened up on the heartbreaking final words she ever spoke to him.

Sabine Mukanga, 28, and Robert Lawani were expecting a daughter together when, seven months in, Sabine was taken to hospital after complaining of heartburn and feeling poorly.

Sadly both she and her daughter passed away, with an inquest earlier this month declaring that the mum died from internal bleeding. The NHS Trust in charge of care was criticised for shortcomings, but a coroner ruled that addressing these wouldn't have changed the outcome.

Robert, 39, is now raising the couple's two children, who are four and seven years old, with their mother being laid to rest with baby Princetta in her arms.

Robert, 39, and Sabine Mukanga were expecting their third child (FOCUS FEATURES)

The duo met when they were working at a hair salon in Manchester (FOCUS FEATURES)

He told the Manchester Evening News: “I am totally lost without Sabine. She was a wonderful mother, and she was so excited about the birth of our baby. She couldn’t wait. The last thing she said, as she was wheeled down for surgery, was: ‘Tell the kids I love them. I’m going to be fine.’ I felt the inquest raised more questions than answers. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

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Robert and Sabine met 10 years ago when they were both working at a Manchester hair salon - Robert as a singer and dancer in the evening and Sabine as a hairdresser. “Sabine was beautiful, and she had a heart of gold. She was really friendly and chatty and would go out of her way to help someone," Robert added.

Speaking about how in 2020 she fell pregnant with their third child, Robert added: “We were thrilled. Sabine began shopping immediately for baby clothes and she was over the moon when the scan showed we were having a daughter. She loved girly things.

Richard had to tell Sabine's children their mum wouldn't be coming home (FOCUS FEATURES)

Sabine died when she was seven months pregnant (FOCUS FEATURES)

“Sabine was perfectly fit and healthy with no problems in any of her pregnancies, so we had no concerns at all. She was sitting on the end of the bed and complained of heartburn. I got her a glass of water, but then she was too hot. She said she needed more water and wanted a bath but when I got her into the bathroom, she was passing out and was breathless, so I called an ambulance.

“The paramedics came a few minutes later, just after 10.30pm, and checked her over and said both mum and baby seemed fine, but they would take her to hospital, as a precaution. I arranged for relatives to sit with the children so I could follow the ambulance. But the ambulance was parked outside the house for a long time before they left, which was when my worries started.”

When they arrived at North Manchester General Hospital, a doctor told them she wanted to do CT scans as she was concerned about damage to the baby. Robert added: “She seemed chatty and upbeat and there was no sign of any emergency or panic, there seemed to be no hurry so I thought it couldn’t be serious. We still had no idea what was wrong.

Sabine leaves behind her two children and partner Richard (FOCUS FEATURES)

"The doctors then said that our baby had died, and Sabine would have to have emergency C-section surgery. Before she was taken to theatre, Sabine said to me: ‘Tell the kids I love them. I’m going to be fine.’ I was due to fly abroad for work the next day, and she was insisting I should still go. There was no indication at all that her life might be in danger.”

Princetta was born stillborn and Sabine tragically died during the surgery, with Robert having to break the devastating news to their children - something he described as "a blur". During an inquest it was heard how there were concerns about the time it took for Sabine to consent a CT scan, which has left Richard with questions over whether it would have made a difference.

The hearing heard that Sabine suffered a "massive" fatal bleed that was caused by an 'external rupture of the external hematoma of the splenic artery', which meant her chances of survival were "poor".

Sabine was described as a "wonderful mother" by her partner (FOCUS FEATURES)

Coroner Zak Golombeck recorded a conclusion of death by natural causes, with Sabine's cause of death listed as "massive internal bleeding", caused by "an external rupture of the dissecting haematoma of the splenic artery".

A spokesperson for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said: "We would again wish to offer our sincere condolences to Sabine’s family for their loss.

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"The coroner ruled that addressing the highlighted shortcomings sadly would have not altered the outcome for Sabine, but we have put an action plan in place as part of our approach to constantly learning lessons to improve patient care."

A friend of the family has organised a GoFundMe to help support Robert and his children - you can donate here.

Ann Cusack