The coronavirus pandemic has taught us all many valuable lessons, and unfortunately, it has caused too many tragedies all around the world.
Just days after giving birth to her daughter, one Florida mom died from COVID-19.
After contracting the virus, the mother, Kristen McMullen, 30, was forced to deliver her baby several weeks early following complications with her pregnancy.
It is unknown whether she has received the COVID vaccine.
Yet, after she started experiencing breathing problems, doctors became concerned, and the baby began receiving less oxygen in the womb.
The symptoms aggravated over time, so doctors at the Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne had to perform an emergency C-Section to deliver her baby girl, Summer Reign.
Kristen McMullen, 30, held newborn daughter, Summer, for just a couple of photos before she was rushed to intensive care
McMullen took ill with COVID about five weeks before her due date
For just a few short moments, McMullen was able to hold her daughter, before she was rushed to the intensive care unit after her own breathing took a turn for the worse.
The mother was pictured giving her infant a bottle of milk in one of the few photos she had taken with her newborn child.
Melissa Syverson, McMullen’s aunt, said:
“She was able to hold Summer for basically just two pictures.
One she had the mask on, and one she took the mask off. They took the quick pictures, she put the mask back on — and then they moved Kristen to ICU immediately after that.”
That was the very first and last time she would ever hold her baby.
While in the ICU, McMullen’s condition quickly worsened and she developed pneumonia, and she could only see her baby girl through video calls on an iPad.
The mom was unable to see her little girl in person -- only through video calls on an iPad
Dad, Keith McMullen, had been caring for his sick wife while looking after their newborn girl
Syverson added:
‘She couldn’t interact. But at least she could see Summer while she was being cared for and just look at her. And then her breathing just progressively got worse.”
Eventually, doctors were forced to sedate her and she was placed on a ventilator. Later, on August 6, she passed away.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with medical bills and to help pay for help to look after Summer
Days before the death of her niece, Syverson said:
“Kristen dreamed of being a mom and after several years of fighting an uphill battle, her and her husband Keith, received the good news that they were expecting. This bundle of joy is the first great-grandchild in the family and we couldn’t have been happier for her and her little growing family.
About 3 weeks prior to her due date, Kristen started developing COVID-19 symptoms. Things progressed quickly and she ended up in the hospital with an official ‘positive’ test as well as confirmation of having COVID pneumonia. She was in the hospital for 4 days at this point and was sent home with antibiotics. After less than 48 hours she returned to the hospital not able to breathe and worried about her unborn baby.”
Dad and husband, Keith McMullen, with his newborn daughter Summer Reign
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help raised funds to care for baby Summer Reign and pay for her mother’s medical bills
Hours after returning to the hospital, the baby was delivered with husband and new father Keith doing double duty as he became a dad while still caring for his wife.
Days after the initial posting on the donation website, the aunt shared the tragic news of McMullen’s passing.
She wrote:
‘She lit up the room wherever she was, her laughter was contagious and she will be truly missed every day until we all take our last breath.
We’re so thankful for the time we had with her and thank God for the blessing of her little girl that she left behind.
At this point it’s unclear how much money is needed to cover the insane hospital bills and to help keep Keith and baby Summer figure out how they’re going to move forward through this tragedy.’
‘We’re so thankful for the time we had with her and thank God for the blessing of her little girl that she left behind,’ aunt Melissa Syverson wrote
She later explained:
‘We really thought with her being young and full of energy and completely healthy we thought she was going to pull through.”
The uncle, James Syverson, added:
‘She was giving it all to the baby and giving it all to fight this illness, and unfortunately the illness won. Absolutely terrible. such a loss all the way around. Summer not having a mom, me not having a niece, Keith not having a wife.
She never got sick, and we assumed like many people that this would just go away just as quickly as it came because with a lot of younger people — she was only 30 years old — that she would breeze through it and be back taking charge of life.’
Doctors believe McMullen was infected with the Delta variant.
Dr. Lori Boardman from Orlando Health’s Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies commented on the increased number of pregnant women contracting the virus:
‘They definitely have pneumonia and are requiring oxygen. the baby doesn’t look good because sometimes the heart rates will slow, we’re having to deliver babies before they’re supposed to be born.
One of the biggest questions I get is ‘Does it increase the risk of miscarriage?’ Data says no. We’re not seeing a negative impact at all from receiving the vaccination,’ Boardman said. ‘We’ve seen the babies getting antibodies from their moms who get vaccinated which protects them.’
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