A woman who remains in hospital six months after giving birth to her son is suing the doctors and the hospital that treated her.

Lindsey Hubley contracted a flesh-eating disease after giving birth to her son Myles.

“To have him kind of ripped from her after a couple of days after he was born, it's just been very difficult to process,” says Hubley’s fiancé, Michael Sampson.

Hubley, 33, was rushed to hospital with a severe case of necrotizing fasciitis. By the time she was admitted her organs had begun to fail.

Doctors took extreme measures by putting her in an induced coma and amputating both hands and parts of both her legs over the summer. She also underwent a hysterectomy.

Seven months and more than 20 surgeries later, Hubley has left the hospital grounds for the first time.

“She's much better than she's been,” Sampson says. “She's finally actually on a road to recovery where rehab is in the near future for the first time.”

Sampson and son Myles have been at her side each day, but it has been an incredibly difficult road for the family.

“Having her watch the two of us leave and her sitting there for the rest of the night in the hospital is absolutely torturous to do,” Sampson says. “It's taken our family from us. It's taken any amount of normalcy for that boy for the foreseeable future, and perhaps forever. It’s taken her legs, her feet, and a lot more. It's not going to take our happiness.”

The family is taking things one day at a time.

“Just kind of worry about today and don't worry too much about the future because you'd get lost pretty quick,” says Sampson.

The future for Hubley is filled with unknowns. Rehabilitation will be a full-time job at first. Then there could be prosthetics, wheelchairs and adaptations at home.

“If it was just feet it would be one thing. If it was just arms it'd be another thing. But there's about nine different things that we're dealing with."

Sampson and Hubley have filed a medical malpractice suit against five physicians and the IWK Health Centre, for alleged wrongdoings in her care during the birth and her postoperative care.

Lawyer Ray Wagner says they want to be sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

“She's going to need a lot of care. She's going to work as hard as she can to become as independent as she can,” says Wagner.

Wagner said it's alleged part of the placenta was not removed at birth, and that Hubley had a tear on her vagina that required sutures, which could have contributed to her health issues.

He said it's also alleged that when Hubley arrived back at the hospital on March 5 with abdominal pain -- the day after being discharged following the birth -- an examination was not performed. Hubley was diagnosed with constipation and sent home.

The next day, she was rushed to the hospital after experiencing more pain and discolouration on her body.

Sampson, 34, who hasn’t been able to work since the birth of Myles, is also named as a plaintiff in the case.

The IWK did not comment on the matter.

For now, Sampson and Hubley are keeping their focus on their infant son.

“Her and I both said that very early on, it's that even amidst all of this, our life is no longer our own. It's his now,” Sampson says.

Sampson says they will continue to celebrate the small things, and count themselves lucky to have each other.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie and The Canadian Press



