An Ohio mother has died following alleged complications from a tummy tuck surgery.
Before the procedure on Feb. 25, Rachel Tussey shared her preparation with her over 25,000 followers on TikTok, including her consultation with the doctor.
“Please pray. I know it’s gonna be great. I’ve waited a really long time for this,” said Tussey, 47, in one video ahead of the surgery. “I’m in good hands, I know God’s got my back. Let’s do this.”
The mom was seen sitting in a hospital bed wearing a gown in the video, captioned, “#midlifeglowup #mommymakeover.”
On Tuesday, March 3, her husband, Jeremy Tussey, revealed in an update on TikTok that the aftermath of the surgery did not go as planned. Having waited for his wife to finish the procedure, he recalled getting a call at around 5:45 p.m. instructing him to return to the recovery room.
Jeremy said that his wife’s doctor was on his way out and allegedly “assured” him that the surgery “went great” as he entered the recovery room.
Jeremy recalled hearing his wife calling for him before a nurse joined them in the room and allegedly asked Tussey how she was feeling after being given pain medication.
“Next thing you know, I look down and her face is off color,” Jeremy recalled of Tussey. “I assumed it was from the surgery, you know [from] a lack of blood.”
He said Rachel became unresponsive when they called her name, prompting a nurse to start CPR on her.
“I’m just a dumb construction worker, but I could tell something was wrong,” said Jeremy. “But, there was no sense of urgency.”
He recalled the nurses called for Rachel’s plastic surgeon, who “assessed the situation” then instructed them to call 911. Jeremy said that an ambulance brought them to TriHealth Bethesda North Hospital, where Tussey was placed on life support.
“She was without oxygen for over six minutes,” Jeremy said in the TikTok video. “… I was told last night that she’s brain dead.”
A GoFundMe was launched for Rachel and her family on Thursday, March 5. In the description, it announced that Jeremy made the “heartbreaking decision to remove her from life support.”
“Rachel was truly full of life. She loved adventure, cherished her family deeply, and lived as an example of what community and compassion should look like,” reads the fundraiser’s description. “When someone needed help, Rachel was always the first person to step forward.”
The family told local news outlet WXIX-TV that they have obtained a lawyer, but have not yet filed a lawsuit against the plastic surgeon.
Jeremy vowed in the March 3 TikTok to find out how things could have led to such a tragic outcome. “To me, it looks like incompetence. Somebody dropped the ball here,” he said.
Rachel leaves behind her husband, Jeremy, and their three children, Tristan, Alec and Livi, according to GoFundMe.
