*A 45-year-old Birmingham, Alabama mother died in the Dominican Republic after having cosmetic surgery — the country’s second surgical victim this month.
Alicia Renette Williams, a 9th-grade teacher at Huffman High School, developed blood clots five days after her June 2 surgery for liposuction on her arm, a tummy tuck, and a Brazilian butt lift, WBRC reported.
Myra Bennett Powell, MD, of Ederra Bella Plastic Surgery and Medical Spa, spoke about the passing of Williams in a Facebook post, saying she felt “very moved” after Williams’s sister reached out, Yahoo reports. “She’s a mother, she has a 14-year-old son, she is a teacher…she got her bachelors from Jacksonville State…she was really active in her church…” a tearful Bennett says in the footage.
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The Birmingham community is mourning the loss of a teacher who died hundreds of miles away from home. Alicia Renette Williams, 45, died in the Dominican Republic https://t.co/BnmxUqCtd6
— WKRG (@WKRG) June 19, 2019
“Her sister said that she loved fashion,” added Powell, “and she was a diva and she was a really creative person.”
The doctor noted that Williams, who was anemic, went to the Dominican Republic for “a lot of surgery to happen all at one time,” after which she felt weak so she was hospitalized, sedated, and given IV fluids and blood, but she later died. Powell believes Williams may have lost a large volume of blood due to anemia.
Powell says she feels “like a failure because as much as I talk about how to be safe, [Williams] still went there and did something that wasn’t safe and now she’s gone.”
A representative of Birmingham City Schools tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “Birmingham City Schools is deeply saddened to confirm Alicia Williams, a ninth-grade English teacher at Huffman High School, recently passed away in the Dominican Republic. She recently completed her third year at Huffman. Our hearts go out to her family during this tragic situation, and she will be missed by the Huffman community.”
People usually opt for surgery in other countries due to the “lack of regulations” and because the procedures are cheap.