‘Wake Up; It’s the Baby Day:’ Mom-To-Be Finds Partner Dead the Morning of Her C-Section

In a heart-wrenching incident in Greater Manchester, England, Rebecca Moss woke up on the day she was to give birth via cesarean section to find her partner, Thomas Gibson, dead. The tragic discovery occurred early in the morning on June 7, 2023, when Moss, attempting to rouse him for the significant day, found him unresponsive. Gibson, 40, had suffered a cardiac arrest while sleeping on the couch.

This devastating event unfolded as Moss told Gibson, “Wake up, it’s baby day,” around 5:15 a.m., only to realize the gravity of the situation. The case was later brought before the Stockport Coroner’s Court, where details of the preceding medical mishaps came to light. Reports from The Independent outlined that Gibson had previously sought medical attention at Wythenshawe Hospital’s Accident and Emergency department on May 27 due to a severe stomach bug that had persisted for about three weeks.

An inquest heard that a critical misinterpretation of an electrocardiogram (ECG) scan by hospital staff failed to identify a complete heart block, a condition that could lead to sudden cardiac death. Although a junior doctor had noted potential abnormalities on the scan and escalated it to Dr. Thomas Bull, a more senior doctor, the latter deemed the findings as not clinically significant without further symptoms of heart issues. This oversight proved fatal for Gibson, told Sky News.

On the day of his death, a distraught Moss was instructed by emergency operators to perform chest compressions until the ambulance arrived. “The shock, trauma, and not to mention the physical exertion of having to pull Tom off the couch and perform chest compressions at 39 weeks pregnant was overwhelming,” Moss recounted in court, as reported by the BBC.

In her emotional testimony, Moss remembered Gibson as “caring, charming, and funny,” noting that he had been actively preparing for their baby’s arrival by building furniture every weekend. Their daughter, Harper, born hours after the tragedy, will mark her first birthday under the shadow of her father’s absence. “He won’t be there for any of her birthdays,” Moss lamented. “Harper will instead visit her dad’s grave when she’s old enough to understand.”

The inquest revealed the hospital’s admission of providing negligent medical care to Gibson, with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust making a full admission of liability. This acknowledgment, however, does little to alleviate the grief of a family torn apart by a preventable medical error, just as they were about to welcome a new life.