Pregnant woman fighting COVID-19 goes into coma – wakes up with flat belly
All medical professionals and hospital staff know that they are at high risk for N-Covid 19 because of their environment. But of course, they still pray and hope that they will never test positive.
But what if they do test positive? And if they do test positive, what if they were 33 weeks pregnant?
That’s exactly what happened to respiratory therapist Angela Primachenko last March 27, 2020.
Before testing positive, Angela was working as a respiratory therapist at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington. When she was 30 weeks pregnant, she took a medical and maternity leave to further protect herself, her baby in her belly, her husband, and their 11-month-old baby.
Three weeks later, she developed a small cough, which quickly progressed to the point where she couldn’t talk properly.
That’s why, on her second trip to the emergency room, her doctor admitted her for observation. And that night, they transferred her to the ICU for respiratory distress. When they tested her for covid-19, she tested positive.
“I was just literally like, ‘God, just get me through five more minutes.’ … Because the difficulty with breathing was so much harder. I’m like, gasping for air, you know, at that point,” Angela told ABC News. “You’re trying to breathe but you just can’t.”
Her oxygen saturation dropped and the doctors had to intubate her and put her in a medically-induced coma. They believed her body had a better chance of fighting the virus if she was unconscious.
Her family, who weren’t allowed to visit her, felt helpless. Angela’s twin sister, Oksana, turned to social media to help Angela recover.
“We are asking for prayer for my twin sister Angela, she has been diagnosed with Covid 19 and has been in the ICU for the last 3 days… and she is 33 weeks pregnant. She isn’t doing well, but we as her family are fixing our gaze on Jesus the miracle worker. We ask for prayer as prayer is powerful,” Oksana wrote on her Instagram post.
And to add to their troubles, they also had to worry about Angela’s baby’s life. Although careful monitoring can help babies survive inside the womb of the pregnant patient, this is a different story.
Because doctors are still learning about N-Covid 19, they cannot know what effect this virus will have on Angela or the baby.
Weighing out all options, her doctors decided to deliver her baby at 34 weeks on April 1.
Angela woke up on April 6 to discover that her pregnant belly was now flatter than it should be.
“After all the medication and everything, I just woke up and all of a sudden I didn’t have my belly anymore,” Angela told TODAY. “It was just extremely mind-blowing.”
When she was strong enough to be taken off the ventilator and breathe on her own, she was wheeled out of the ICU a week after she woke up.
Her baby, Ava, however still had to spend time in the neonatal ICU for close monitoring but she had already tested negative for Covid-19.
Angela’s husband and eldest daughter also tested negative for Covid-19 so her husband was able to visit their daughter, who they named Ava.
“[Ava] means ‘breath of life’,” Angela explained why she and husband chose the name.”So she’s our new breath of life.”
Angela still wasn’t allowed to visit and hold baby Ava until she tests negative twice. She was only able to see her daughter through a video call when her husband visits Ava.
Finally, on April 16, Angela was declared Covid-free and she was able to finally hold her newborn daughter in her arms.
“Such a testimony to be able to hold my little Ava,” Angela wrote on her Instagram post. “Ava is doing amazing and gaining weight every day like a champ! Another week or so and we will be able to take her HOME!”
Angela’s twin sister, Oksana, was overjoyed when she heard her sister has fully recovered and she now had a new niece.
“My twin not only survived Covid-19 but also gave birth while being under an induced coma, I know, we all didn’t even know that’s possible,” Oksana wrote. “Thank you to EVERYONE for your prayers, it was a dark time, I doubted and questioned my faith and God, I felt so powerless and so fearful and out of control. But that’s how faith grows, going through times of uncertainty and seeing God gently calm my spirt again and again. And now seeing the end, I stand in awe of God. He is good.
I can’t wait to meet my little niece Ava.”
Would you like to meet Ava and her older sister, Emily? Watch the video below.
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Source: ABC News, Washington Post, Instagram/Angela Primachenko, Instagram/Oksana Luiten