Klinikum Vöcklabruck – ‘Lukas is dead because doctors made mistakes’

Daughter Leonie (2) is gymnastics in the garden when the “crown” reaches the parental home in the Salzkammergut. Just a few kilometers from the state border of Salzburg, Sabrina and Stefan W. have built and expanded their family life here. But since December my thoughts have been elsewhere: “Every day I have to think about my Lukas. Every day I have pain from birth and what happened,” says the mother, fighting back tears.

Contractions and pain for more than 20 hours
Everything went smoothly until Lukas’ due date, the parents say. Unlike Leonie, who was born by caesarean section, Lukas should have had a natural birth: “The doctor assured me that I didn’t have to stress because there was nothing to stand in the way of a normal delivery. The slightest deviation would they are doing a cesarean section,” Sabrina describes the conversation on November 29, 2021. “Because of Corona and planning problems, they wanted to do the cesarean the next day,” say the parents who canceled the operation. The contractions started seven days later.

“I felt the pain intensely”
Sabrina and Stefan W. reached the Vöcklabruck clinic shortly after midnight on December 6, 2021. “Lukas didn’t want to, so they sent Dad home,” Mom says. The contractions tormented all Sinterklaas day. In the morning, the mother was given medication to induce labour. And the PDA in the afternoon. “I felt the pain intensely,” Sabrina says. The cervix was dilated around 7 p.m. But: “The pain suddenly became so severe.” In this condition, the mother called for a cesarean section, while the midwives said soothingly, “We’ll do it now.” Sabrina was given an IV of painkillers.

The senior doctor suggested a suction cup birth and brought in a colleague. “I was delivered. One pulled, the other pressed his stomach.” Sabrina felt an internal pressure in her stomach and excruciating pain, as she says, “A mother knows when something is wrong”. Meanwhile, the child’s heart rate dropped rapidly, adds father Stefan.

Dangerous blood loss and insufficient oxygen
The doctors kept trying the suction cup. Anesthesia and an emergency cesarean section followed later. Papa Stefan was waiting in the delivery room. After 45 minutes, the staff announced: “Lukas needs to be ventilated.” And the woman? “It’s not going well.” Sabrina W. had lost 2.5 liters of blood. She was on the brink. Luke had to be resuscitated. His brain had been deprived of oxygen – only more machines kept the newborn alive.

Transport to the University Hospital Salzburg, to the neonatology department: “He was completely lifeless, like a living doll”, says Stefan W. when he first saw his son. “The doctors agreed that Luke’s brain had suffered serious damage and that he was no longer awake.”

A Baptism Before Luke Died
On December 14, the parents decided to turn off the machines: “We were allowed to do one more baptism. Grandpa, grandma and aunt were there.” Luke was lying on his father’s stomach as the doctors removed everything that kept the posterity alive: “I felt his last breath, his last heartbeat.” The parents are sure: “The doctors have not acted properly.” The mother emphasized: “They did not hear me, did not take me seriously.”

When asked, the clinic regrets: “We want to assure you that we have done everything we can to save the lives of mother and child.” The judiciary must now provide clarity.