A miracle is almost what happened to this baby who was born while his mother was in a coma infected with covid-19
Diana Angola fought not to die at the age of 36 and with her child in her womb. Contaminated with covid-19 , lungs in mid-gear and in an induced coma, she gave birth to Jefferson. And what amazes doctors the most is that she is alive.
Her second child was born 24 days ago in a high-risk delivery due to the affectation caused by the new coronavirus, Paula Velásquez, an internist at the Versalles clinic, in the city of Cali (southwest), explained to AFP, where the delivery was attended.
"It is a case that has caused us a lot of shock because until now we know that there are very few reports of survival in a context as severe as the one our patient had," he added.
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Angola was induced into a coma and underwent a cesarean section because her lung capacities were compromised by the virus, which forced her to be hospitalized on May 15 after an uncontrollable fever.
Three days later, she was intubated and remained that way until surgery. In addition, due to her pregnancy, they kept her sitting at a 45-degree angle so that she could breathe better as it was impossible to lie on her stomach, as is usually treated for patients with new pneumonia.
The delivery of Jefferson, who was not infected with covid-19, also had another difficulty: it was a premature baby. The child was born when his mother adjusted 24.3 weeks of gestation, between fourteen and 18 weeks less than when she usually gives birth in a regular pregnancy.
"A human being can survive from 24 weeks with a good weight, but with a lot of technology and with results in neurodevelopment and at the lung level" that sometimes cause unfavorable evolutions, he added.
Neonatologist Edwin Olivo, who was part of the group of specialists who treated the case, pointed out that the baby gradually gains weight and breathes better.
"He was born with a lot of difficulty breathing, we had to resuscitate, we had to do the entire procedure for a critical patient," he said. "Fortunately we can say that the evolution has been towards improvement" although it is still in an incubator.
Already recovered from covid-19, the mother is looking forward to discharge. "It is a very great emotion to know that we fought, that the doctors helped us to survive," he said in a weak voice.
Diana does not know how she was infected and her family maintains that she strictly complied with the mandatory isolation order, imposed on March 25, although increasingly relaxed amid attempts by the government to reactivate the economy.
In the corridors of the hospital, her sister Angela breathes a sigh of relief. The hospitalization brought back stormy memories for the family: a few years ago her mother and another sister died, intubated, in intensive care units, the same ones in which Diana was for weeks.
"Do not let me intubate, get me out of here, I don’t want to die," Angela recalls that her family member screamed when the doctors shared the treatment to follow.
Already in a coma, Diana cried at the reading of the letters that her daughter and other close friends wrote to her.
Now Ángela takes advantage of the resurgence of her sister and nephew to make an appeal at a time when infections and deaths are multiplying in Latin America: “There are many people who go without masks, who go to parties, suddenly because they do not know a close case they are not aware ”.
With more than 2,650 deaths and 80,000 infections detected since March 6, Colombia, with 50 million inhabitants, is the sixth country in Latin America in number of deaths and the fifth in contaminated by covid-19.
The authorities believe they keep the disease under control in relation to other nations in the region, although last week 25% of the total of both indicators was presented.