A Langley mother is demanding changes to health care in B.C. after dealing with life-threatening complications following an emergency C-section.

Natasha Olauson had a C-section to deliver her daughter on Feb. 17 at Royal Columbian Hospital.

“Something felt wrong,” she told Global News.

“I felt, so I’ve had an infection before with my previous C-section. So this was my third emergency C-section, and I felt like I had an infection and a hematoma brewing already. When you’ve had one before, you know what it feels like.”

Olauson said she insisted the doctors put her on antibiotics, which they ultimately did, but she says her health was deteriorating very quickly.

An ultrasound in early March revealed there were pieces of her placenta left behind inside her, Olauson said, and she then had to undergo procedures at Langley Memorial Hospital to remove them.

“I went into emergency D&C (dilation and curettage), and the next morning I woke up and I was in agonizing pain and screaming for help, and most pain I’ve ever lived in my life I can’t even comprehend,” she said.

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Following the second procedure, Olauson said the bleeding would not stop, forcing doctors to perform an emergency hysterectomy.

“I don’t have words,” she said. “I am 33 years old. I was not done having children.”

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She says she was sent home, but then on Sunday, she was rushed to Surrey Memorial Hospital after still being in pain.

Olauson said she feels like she was not listened to by hospital staff and believes the hysterectomy could have been prevented had doctors listened to her concerns initially.

Fraser Health says it cannot speak to the specifics of the case. However, it did issue a statement.

“It matters to us that every person and their family feel heard, supported and cared for, and we are sorry that this has not been a positive experience for this person while in our care,” Dr. Kirsten Niles, regional division head of obstetrics for Fraser Health, said.

“Although we will not speak to the specifics of a person’s care journey with us, we can share that the care team has remained in communication with this patient to provide care and support. Our care teams are working collaboratively with our partners to support the patient and their family and we will continue to do so as needed throughout their care journey.

“We are thoroughly reviewing this person’s care journey to understand how we can improve the patient experience for people in our care. This includes examining our internal processes to determine if refinements need to be made.”

Olauson said the experience has left her hurt, angry and sad.

“Mutilated,” she said, “like I’m not a woman anymore.”

“Hopefully, this doesn’t happen to anybody else, and it can start to, you know, change doesn’t happen by people staying silent.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Angelina Stamper listens to the voicemail her son left her almost every day.

“Hey Mom, happy birthday, just calling again. Give me a call back.”

The message was recorded on Oct. 17, 2024. Six weeks later, her 28-year-old son, Sheldon Stamper, took his own life.

Now, more than a year after his death, the Osoyoos, B.C., mother says she is still searching for answers about what happened during his time in psychiatric care, and why she cannot access his medical records.

“I just want to know what happened, I just want to know why it happened,” said Stamper.

Stamper says her son had been struggling with his mental health and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In September 2024, after what she describes as his third suicide attempt that year, Sheldon was admitted under involuntary care to the psychiatric ward at Chilliwack General Hospital.

Despite his history and diagnosis, Angelina believes the care he received was inadequate.

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“Days and days without someone coming in,” she said. “He would ask the doctors to change his prescriptions, ask to just talk to someone, they would not come to see him for days.”

Stamper says she was told by hospital staff that her son was last seen in his bed at 8 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2024. At approximately 9:15 a.m., he was found dead in a bathroom. During that time, she says, he was unaccounted for.

“They went to find him for his medication and couldn’t find him. He wasn’t in his bed anymore. They knocked on the bathroom door. Nobody answered,” she said.

In the months following his death, Stamper says she has repeatedly asked for access to her son’s medical records in an effort to understand what led up to that morning. She says Fraser Health denied her request, stating that access was being refused because it was for her own personal reasons ‘rather than acting on behalf of the deceased.’

“What are they hiding? Why can’t I see what my son was on, what medications, what was following up to his death? I can’t see any of that. They won’t give me any information on that,” she said.

In a statement, Fraser Health told Global News it has been in ongoing communication with the family, as well as with the staff and medical teams involved in Sheldon’s care. But Stamper disputes that characterization, saying the health authority only responded to her again last week.

Stamper says she remains determined to find out more about what happened in the final hours of his life.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.