A Missouri mother was on a ventilator when she gave birth to her baby girl. She has since named the ICU nurse the baby’s godmother after the two formed a bond.
According to PEOPLE, Monique Jones gave birth to her daughter Zamyrah Prewitt in September as she battled the coronavirus. On September 6, the mother’s condition worsened, and the doctors decided to place her on a ventilator.
Nurse Caitlyn Obrock recalled Jones being “scared.” Luckily she was there to comfort the soon-to-be mother. “I was very invested in her, hoping and praying for a good outcome,” she told Good Morning America.
“It was possible that I wouldn’t live — that’s all I was thinking,” Jones added. “They asked me if it was possible to take my baby out. At first, I told them, no, but I wasn’t getting any better.” The 28-year-old mother said prior to her COVID-19 diagnosis, she barely left the house and practiced social distancing when she did.
On September 28, doctors at the St. Louis Barnes-Jewish Hospital successfully delivered her baby via a caesarian section. Zamyrah was born prematurely at just 29 weeks gestation.
Jones woke from her intubation in the early part of October. From there, she moved on to the rehab clinic to get assistance with her occupational speech and physical therapy.
Zamyrah spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. WVLT reported. She was released two months later.
Nurse Obrock hosted a baby shower and raised over $2,000 in gifts for the family while Jones recovered.
“The way she started out motherhood with this baby was unfair, and we wanted her to know how special and loved she is,” Obrock told GMA.
“She’s a miracle,” she added. “Her and her baby.”
Jones was released from the hospital right before Christmas and soon asked the nurse to become Zamyrah’s godmother and be part of her extended family.
“I feel like I was fighting, not for me but for them,” the mother of two told WVLT. “Family always meant a lot, and for me to have one of my own, it feels good to have the support that I need.”
“I am happy and grateful that I’m still here,” Jones told GMA, “but at the same time, it’s still overwhelming.”
