27-year old Angela Primachenko from Washington, US was pregnant by 8 and a half months when she caught Coronavirus. As her due date approached closer, her condition kept getting worse.
Eventually, the doctors decided to send her into a medically-induced coma and her baby was delivered while she was in a coma. And she came out of the coma, the baby was already 5 days old.
This entire incident was nothing short of miraculous, and the video of mom reuniting with her baby after the coma has gone viral.
Angela caught Coronavirus two weeks before her due date
Angela has been working as a respiratory therapist at the Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Washington. She was on maternity leave, and she doesn’t know how she got infected even though she wasn’t going to work.
Initially, she got a little cough and then fever – both of which didn’t go away. Within two days, her situation got worse and her family eventually got her tested. Her results were positive and she began to have extreme difficulty in breathing.
“Being a respiratory therapist — just being a human, I guess — I knew I couldn’t keep breathing the way I was and survive.”
Doctors put her into medically-induced coma and got the baby delivered
She was taken to an ICU, and she was put on a ventilator to help her in breathing.
Doctors were still worried about her pregnancy and delivery as the date was approaching closer, her lungs were collapsing and her body was getting weaker due to lack of nutrients. Doctors decided that they’ll induce labour and get the baby delivered – so that her lungs can have more space, and her body can recover faster.
Eventually, the doctors performed the delivery and a baby girl was born on April 1st. To the surprise of doctors, the baby was healthy and well – although they have been testing the baby to check if she has Coronavirus infection.
She was in coma even 5 days after the birth of her baby, and she wasn’t going to survive
Angela was still in coma, and her health was getting worse as her family and even the doctors thought they’ll lose her. But within the next few days she recovered, and now she’s home to see her 11-month old daughter while the newborn is still in hospital.
Baby is kept separate from the mother, to make sure mother recovers from the infection first
The newborn baby is being kept in infant care, and both mother and baby will be able to be together only after mother has no symptoms or infections from Coronavirus left anymore.
Angela says she misses her baby and would do anything to be with her:
“I just want to hold her and hug her and love on her and catch up on the first few weeks I missed out on her.”
She saw her baby when she came out of the coma, and then they got separated again. Angela waits eagerly for these days to be over so that she can be with her child.
It was an emotional rollercoaster for the family and doctors
Although, going into coma 5 days before the birth of her child, and coming out after 5 days of birth – it was an emotionally overwhelming experience for her, as she told CNN:
“That was emotionally unbelievable. It was just crazy to have to try to understand what happened the last 10 days, having to puzzle back together your life.”
Featured Image Courtesy: CNBC