HGTV Couple Mourns Tragic Death of Family Member: ‘No One Listened’

Getty Funeral casket adorned with flowers

Mike Jackson and Egypt Sherrod of HGTV’s “Married to Real Estate“ are in mourning following the tragic death of a young family member. The couple says her death could have been prevented had medical professionals taken her concerns seriously. Here’s the latest…

Mike Jackson’s Cousin Died Weeks After Becoming a New Mom

On November 10, 2022, both Jackson and Sherrod posted Instagram tributes to Ellen James-Robinson, Jackson’s cousin, who died weeks after becoming a first-time mom. Sherrod posted an Instagram video, explaining that James-Robinson had tried to tell medical professionals that something was wrong, but “no one listened.”

“My husband Mike’s younger cousin passed away right after childbirth,” Sherrod explained. “Baby was not even a few weeks old. She’s a newlywed, had her whole life ahead of her, and it’s really devastated folks over here because we’re still struggling to understand, especially considering it could have been prevented.”

“You know, she’d been back to the hospital multiple times saying she was in pain,” Sherrod continued. “She just didn’t feel right since she’d had the baby. But no one listened.”

Sherrod and Jackson are parents to three girls — Kendall, 10, Harper, 3, and Mike’s daughter from a previous relationship, 21-year-old Simone. Sherrod told Essence in 2020 that she had serious complications after having a C-section with Harper.

“What was scary is I was checked out of the hospital two days after giving birth, and when I got back home and laid down to go to sleep, it felt like I was drowning,” she said. “I couldn’t breathe. My husband rushed me back to the hospital, and it turned out that I had ‘fluid overload’ from the c-section and was drowning from the fluid in my lungs. Had I let probably another day go by, I may have passed away.”

Having been in that situation, Sherrod knows how hard but important it is for women to advocate for themselves, which she pointed out in her video about James-Robinson’s death.

“This is something that we’re seeing more and more,” she said. “I experienced it right after I gave birth to Harper, just doctors not paying attention to the signs, not listening, not thinking that we know our own body.”

“And by the time she’d gone back the last time she had a septic infection that took her life,” Sherrod continued. “Listen to your body. Ladies, listen to your body. Men, listen to your women. Listen to your mothers, your sisters, your wives, your girlfriends. If they say something’s not right, we know inherently when something is not right with our body and keep pushing until you find a doctor or a hospital that will listen. This could have been prevented.”

Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson Plead With Medical Professionals to ‘Pay Attention’

In their Instagram posts, both Sherrod and Jackson begged medical professionals to pay closer attention when women say they don’t feel right.

“Mortality rates of women after childbirth are like that of a third-world country here in the United States,” Sherrod said in her video. “We can do so much better.”

In April, CNN reported that a new study of health care in the wealthiest countries in the world revealed that women in the US have the highest rates of preventable and maternal mortality. Shockingly, the US has the highest maternal mortality rate — 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births — which was more than triple the rate of any other country studied. Among Black mothers specifically, the rate jumped to 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births.

In his post about his cousin, Jackson pleaded with physicians to change the stats by trusting their patients.

“Please listen to black woman when they say something’s not right, something’s wrong, I’m in pain etc.,” he wrote. “Everything isn’t in your school books. Some things require a concerned, listening ear, willing to dig a little deeper! Do what you would do for your spouse, husband, child, love one etc….DIG A LITTLE DEEPER. My cousin could’ve still been alive if the doctors would’ve cared a bit more. Researched a bit more!”

“Racial Disparities Exist,” he pointed out. “Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. Multiple factors contribute to these disparities, such as variation in quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias.”

In Sherrod’s video, she acknowledged working in healthcare has grown harder in recent years, but urged medical professionals to remember the power they have to save lives.

“Healthcare workers, we love you,” she said. “We understand that your back’s against the wall. We understand you’re understaffed. But we need you if you’re going to be in that position, to pay attention to the signs and to listen and go the extra mile because, unfortunately like some other careers, you guys have folks’ lives in your hands. You have our lives in your hands.”