Sandra was admitted on Wednesday, April 17, to be induced. She was pregnant with her first child, Nathaniel Josiah Payne. She labored all day Thursday with little progress. By Friday morning, she began to have breathing problems, and the doctors thought she was having a pulmonary embolism. The doctors decided it was best to take her down for a C-section. Due to the epidural already being removed, she was going to be placed under general anesthesia. During the procedure, she suffered a fatal AFE. The doctors were able to quickly get Nate out and placed him in the hands of the NICU team. Nate was placed on a vent, and a cooling process began. After 3 days, Nate made a full recovery from his traumatic birth and was released a few days later. Sandra never got a chance to meet Nate, but she gave the ultimate sacrifice so her son could live! Nate is happy, healthy, and every day he looks more and more like his mom.
Sandra loved life, her friends, her job of working with at-risk teens in the foster care system, and she loved Nate, and she was a huge San Francisco Giants fan! She was so excited to be a mom.
