“I nearly died after giving birth to my daughter”: Serena Williams looks back on emergency C-section in having Olympia

“I nearly died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia,” said the 23-time Grand Slam champion. “Still, I count myself lucky. This set off a series of health complications that I’m lucky to have survived. First my C-section injury healed snapped open due to the intense cough I endured from the embolism.

“I returned to the operating room, where the doctors found a large hematoma, a swelling of clotted blood, in my abdomen. And then I returned to the operating room surgery for a procedure that prevents clots from traveling to my lungs.”

The 42-year old revealed she was bedridden following the delivery, and the outcome may have been different were it not for the professional care she received.

“When I finally returned home to my family, I had to spend the first six weeks of maternity bedridden,” she said. “I am so grateful to have had access to such an incredible medical team of doctors and nurses in a state-of-the-art hospital.

“They knew exactly how to handle this complicated turn of events. If it wasn’t for their professional assistance, I wouldn’t be here today.”