Australian model Leah Ramsey reveals how a small cut led to open-heart surgery and the tragic loss of her baby

It started with a small cut on her foot but for Australian model Leah Ramsey the freak accident ended in unimaginable tragedy.

The minor injury triggered a rare infection that was repeatedly misdiagnosed, ultimately leading to open-heart surgery while she was pregnant.

After the devastating loss of her baby girl in June, Ramsey is bravely sharing her story to urge patients to speak up.

Speaking to 7NEWS.com.au, the former Australia’s Next Top Model contestant said she hopes her experience serves as a warning about the importance of advocating for yourself to ensure you receive the right medical attention.

In June 2025, Ramsey, who lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Michael, was at home with their toddler, Reeves, when he broke a glass.

“I was cleaning up the glass when it got wedged into the top of my left foot,” Ramsey told 7NEWS.com.au.

“I didn’t notice it was in there. I didn’t see anything. I didn’t feel anything. It was the smallest piece of glass.

“And then a few days later, I was just scratching it and the glass came out.

“But by this stage, it had already gotten infected.”

The common bacterial skin infection, cellulitis, developed into an abscess, landing Ramsey in urgent care.

She was prescribed antibiotics and, after completing treatment, Ramsey said: “It healed fine and I thought that was it.”

But over the following months, Ramsey began experiencing flu-like symptoms and extreme fatigue.

While visiting Australia in October, she discovered she was pregnant with her second child.

As her condition worsened, doctors attributed her extreme exhaustion, night sweats and swelling to “really bad” pregnancy symptoms.

“I started to get dizzy spells and would black out, which was really scary,” Ramsey said.

“When it started to happen quite frequently, I knew something was seriously wrong with me.”

Although the injury on her foot had healed on the surface, bacteria had entered her bloodstream and was causing an infection elsewhere in her body.

By the time doctors identified the source, the damage had already been done.

Ramsey suddenly had excruciating pain in her leg, leading her to have emergency surgery in the US to clear what turned out to be a blocked artery.

“It was then that they started to connect the dots,” Ramsey said.

A bacterium called streptococcus sanguinis, which is commonly found in the mouth, had likely entered her bloodstream through the cut on her foot.

It then travelled to her heart and attached to the mitral valve, where it slowly grew into what doctors call a “vegetation”.

A piece of this vegetation had broken off and travelled down into her leg, causing a blockage.

An echocardiogram revealed the infection had caused endocarditis — a rare, life-threatening inflammation of the inner lining of the heart’s chambers and valves.

Doctors told Ramsey she needed lifesaving surgery to replace her mitral valve, which was being damaged by the bacteria.

She underwent open-heart surgery in Austin in February.

To maximise the chances of a successful pregnancy, she chose to have her valve replaced with a biological valve made from animal tissue rather than a mechanical one.

Ramsey described the surgery as “horrible”.

“I had to learn to breathe again, I had to learn to talk again,” she said, reflecting on the gruelling recovery.

Doctors were “extremely surprised” the pregnancy had survived the procedures, but Ramsey was painfully aware everything she had endured could affect her baby’s chances of survival.

In June, Ramsey lost her baby girl. She and her husband named her Rowe.

“The strongest little girl we will never get to know,” Ramsey said in an Instagram post shared at the time. “You made it through infections and multiple surgeries, even when the odds were against you. But it just wasn’t your time. “We are absolutely devastated. Rest peacefully.”

Now, she hopes her story will serve as a reminder to trust your instincts and keep pushing for answers when something doesn’t feel right.

“I went to so many different doctors trying to find answers and I didn’t take no for an answer,” Ramsey said.

“Since I’ve publicly spoken about my story, a lot of people have shared stories with me about similar situations.

“I just would hate for anyone to ever have to experience what I went through.”

When Ramsey first became unwell after cutting her foot, blood tests showed her body had increasing amounts of CRP, a protein made by our livers that rises with inflammation inside our bodies.

Although the foot injury happened in Texas, many of the symptoms that followed developed while Ramsey was back in Australia where she spent months seeking medical help.

For Ramsey, that was the most frustrating part.

That’s why Ramsey has now started a petition to mandate blood cultures when inflammatory markers are elevated without an identified source.

“For three months I was in Australia, I saw my local GP twice a week. I had fever, night sweats, fatigue, joint pain, dizziness, blackouts, nausea, and symptoms that felt like recurring flu,” Ramsey said on the petition.

“I was frequently having my blood tested and repeatedly showed significantly elevated inflammatory markers. Not once in three months was a blood culture ordered.

“A blood culture is not a complicated or expensive test. It is not new technology.

“It is a basic diagnostic step that, in my case, was never taken — despite the warning signs already being visible in my blood work.”

Ramsey said her recovery changes every day but she’s thankful for her social media community for continuing to support her.

“Together, we can help ensure no one else has to face the fear or trauma of my experience,” Ramsey said.