Doctors save Chicago mom after rare post-birth cardiac arrest following C-section delivery

A Chicago mother is recovering at home after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest just 45 minutes after delivering her baby via cesarean section—a life-threatening complication that unfolded moments after what began as a routine birth.

Chelsea Cheveria, 37, gave birth to her second daughter, Zairah, on Feb. 10 at a Chicago hospital. 

The delivery initially went as planned, with family members describing a calm and joyful moment after the baby’s arrival.

“I said, ‘Hi baby, you're so cute!’” Cheveria recalled, describing the emotional moment she first held her newborn. 

Her husband, Scott Cheveria, celebrated the birth with a kiss and shared the news with family, saying both mother and baby were doing well.

However, the situation changed dramatically less than an hour later. While doctors were completing the cesarean procedure, Cheveria suddenly lost consciousness.

“My eyes rolled into the back of my head… and then I was non-responsive,” she said, recalling the moment everything went black.

Medical staff immediately began emergency intervention after she went into cardiac arrest. According to specialists involved in her care at Northwestern Medicine, doctors performed multiple rounds of CPR and quickly placed her on life support measures as her condition deteriorated.

She was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism—blood clots in the lungs that blocked blood flow to her heart. Doctors described the condition as rare and life-threatening, requiring urgent intervention.

“It’s uncommon—about one in a thousand or less,” said cardiologist Dr. Keith Benzuly, who later assisted in her treatment.

To save her life, doctors administered blood thinners and performed a pulmonary thrombectomy to physically remove the clots. The procedure was successful, stabilizing her condition.

Cheveria spent the following hours in intensive care on a ventilator. When she regained consciousness the next morning, she was unable to speak and initially unaware of what had happened.

“I was so scared,” she said, adding that her first thought was of her newborn daughter.

Despite suffering broken ribs and a fractured sternum from CPR, Cheveria was later able to hold her baby in the hospital—an emotional moment she described as “magic.”

“I knew that was what we both needed in that moment,” she said. “Touching her was the best medicine I could have asked for.”

Doctors say her recovery has been remarkable, crediting rapid intervention and coordinated emergency care for saving her life.

Cheveria has since returned home with her family, including her older daughter Annayiah, 4. While she continues to recover physically and emotionally, she says she remains focused on motherhood and healing.

“I almost died,” she said. “I’m still learning to give myself grace.”

Now three months after birth, baby Zairah is thriving, weighing over 7 pounds. 

The family says they are grateful to be together after what they describe as a traumatic but ultimately miraculous experience.