AN Ohio mother has tragically died following alleged complications from a tummy tuck surgery after months of documenting her makeover for social media.
Rachel Tussey, 47, was confirmed dead on Tuesday – just 10 days after going in for the cosmetic procedure.
Her husband Jeremy revealed she had allegedly suffered surgery complications and had been taken off life support.
Rachel was sharing her journey in the lead up to the tummy tuck procedure with her 25,000 TikTok followers.
She even showed her consultation with her doctor, where in one of her videos she said: “Please pray”.
“I know it’s gonna be great. I’ve waited a really long time for this,” she said.
“I’m in good hands, I know God’s got my back. Let’s do this.”
The video was captioned: “#midlifeglowup, #mommymakeover”, where the mother-of-three was seen in the video sitting in a hospital bed wearing a gown.
The shock update was shared by Jeremy to TikTok where he said the aftermath of the surgery had not gone as planned.
After waiting for his wife to finish the procedure, he said he’d gotten a call to return to the recovery room.
Jeremy said the doctor was leaving and had allegedly “assured” him that the surgery “went great”.
He continued, recalling that he heard Rachel calling for him before a nurse accompanied them in the room.
The nurse allegedly asked Rachel how she was feeling after taking some pain medication.
“Next thing you know, I look down and her face is off color,” Jeremy said.
“I assumed it was from the surgery, you know [from] a lack of blood.”
Rachel suddenly became unresponsive when they called her name and the nurse started CPR.
“I’m just a dumb construction worker, but I could tell something was wrong,” Jeremy said.
“But, there was no sense of urgency.”
He recalled the nurses rang for Rachel’s plastic surgeon, who “assessed the situation” then instructed them to call 911.
An ambulance took the pair to TriHealth Bethesda North Hospital, where Rachel was put onto life support.
“She was without oxygen for over six minutes,” Jeremy said.
“I was told last night that she’s brain dead.”
An online fundraiser was launched for Rachel and her family on Thursday.
In the description, Jeremy said that he had made the “heartbreaking decision to remove her from life support”.
“She loved adventure, cherished her family deeply, and lived as an example of what community and compassion should look like,” he wrote.
“When someone needed help, Rachel was always the first person to step forward.”
Close friend June McCune described Rachel as a “vibrant mother, devoted wife and a true servant to her community.”
“She was the kind of person who showed up for others without hesitation – always ready to help, lend a hand, or bring hope to those who needed it most.
“Rachel was truly full of life,” June added.
Speaking to local news outlet WXIX-TV, Rachel’s family said they had employed a lawyer, but had not yet filed a lawsuit against the surgeon.
In his TikTok, Jeremy vowed to find out how the tragedy unfolded.
“To me, it looks like incompetence,” he said.
“Somebody dropped the ball here.”
Rachel leaves behind her husband, Jeremy, and their three children, Tristan, Alec and Livi, according to GoFundMe.
At the time of writing, the fundraiser has garnered $19,060 in donations.
