It should have been a moment of celebration. Instead, it became a moment of heartbreak when a vivacious Gold Coast mum died suddenly and unexpectedly following the birth of her twins.
Complications arose when the twins arrived via emergency caesarean on Saturday, 2 June, 2018.
Fiona Hayne – Fi or Lou to her friends – tragically lost her life, leaving behind her partner Blake and 18-year-old son Gage as well as her precious newborns, Austin and Oakley-Fiona.
In a heartfelt post on a Go Fund Me campaign set up for the family, good friend Melissa Ricketts paints a picture of a”quirky, hilarious woman” who couldn’t wait for her babies to arrive.
‘Fiona lit up the room’
“Her ability to light up a room with her tremendous smile every time she entered was just astonishing. She was the first person to help a friend in need and was always providing support and guidance to loved ones,” Michelle writes.
Her smile was infectious and you just couldn’t help but smile and laugh until your sides hurt when you were with her.
“We were all delighted when Lou and Blake discovered she was pregnant with twins. All of her friends near and far have been so excited about their impending arrival, checking in daily to see how she was going. In her usual zany way, kept us constantly amused with witty comments and raw honesty about life, love and the impending twins!  Her Facebook posts had friends in hysterics and we all felt we were a close part of her pregnancy.”
The excited mum-to-be recently posted a hilarious photo on Instagram, replicating Beyonce’s twin pregnancy photo for her friends.
“No I will not be boring you all with endless pregnant belly photos for the next 3-4 months but i did promise …Â that i would do my take on Beyonce’s twins photo shoot. Fly screen makes an awesome veil!! If its cool enough for Queen B its cool enough for Queen Fi,” Fiona captioned her quirky photo.
Maternal death rates in Australia amongst the lowest in the world.
The most recent survey (2012-2014) reports only 6.8 deaths per 100,000 women. But sometimes the unimaginable does happen. The most common cause of death following childbirth is haemorrhaging in the brain or abdomen. Heart disease and blood clots in the lungs are other relatively common causes. Age can also play a factor, with women under 20 or over 35 at a slightly higher risk.
In Fiona Hayne’s case, the cause of her death is not yet publicly known. And the family may choose not to disclose exactly what went wrong. But for those left behind, no answer can fix the huge impact of this tragic loss.
Despite the difficult circumstances behind their birth, twins Austin and Oakley-Fiona are reportedly doing well.
In an update posted to the Go Fund Me page this week, Melissa shared their progress.
“As of yesterday they are both doing very well and have actually gained a little bit of weight… They are still in hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit being so well looked after. At this stage, we are still unsure as to when they will be coming home.”
It’s no doubt a bright spot in the wake of this heartbreaking turn of events. Especially for Fiona’s partner Blake, left now to care for these precious babies as a single dad.
Almost $24,000 has been raised so far to help cover funeral costs, as well as alleviate some of the initial financial stress of raising the twins when they come home.
“The road ahead for those that are left to deal with this tragedy, will be long and hard. Whist we are initially raising money for our gorgeous friend’s funeral, we also know that Blake and Gage need financial assistance to look after these gorgeous twins full time in the long term,” Melissa writes.
“Please share our page to all of your family and friends as we desperately are trying to help the family get through this trying time as best as they can and with your support it will help to ease their burden.
“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for donations and page shares. We cannot tell you enough how much it is appreciated as this incredibly devastating time.”
To follow updates or donate to the family, visit their Go Fund Me page.
