Mom who gave birth while intubated due to COVID-19 made her ICU nurse the godmother
A woman has finally brought her child home after giving birth while fighting COVID-19.
On Sept. 23, Monique Jones of Ferguson, Missouri, welcomed Zamyrah Prewitt who arrived at 29 weeks gestation weighing 2 pounds, 5 ounces.
Jones had tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 4 and was hospitalized. The 28-year-old mother of two told "Good Morning America" that doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, performed the early c-section to save her daughter's life.
"It was possible that I wouldn't live--that's all I was thinking," Jones said. "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."
"I am happy and grateful that I'm still here but at the same time it's still overwhelming," she added.
Prior to being tested for the virus, Jones felt common symptoms such as chills and shortness of breath. She said she rarely left her house during her pregnancy other than to grocery shop, and always wore a mask and washed her hands properly.
Jones said she was intubated at the hospital on Sept. 6. Intensive care unit nurse Caitlyn Obrock told "GMA" that Jones, who was her patient, was on high oxygen and was nervous about the intubation.
"She was scared," Obrock said. "I was very invested in her, hoping and praying for a good outcome."
Jones said she woke up the first week of October and was later transferred to a rehabilitation facility affiliated with Barnes. There she received occupational, speech and physical therapy.
Obrock said she does not usually keep in touch with her patients, though she felt a special connection to Jones.
While Jones underwent rehab, Obrock raised $2,000 in baby gifts. She and her colleagues then held a baby shower for Jones.
"It was to boost her morale," Obrock said. "The way she started out motherhood with this baby was unfair and we wanted her to know how special and loved she is."
After she was born, baby Zamyrah was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital where she remained until Dec. 10.
Zamyrah is now home with mom, dad Jamez Prewitt and big sister Damiea, 6.
Recently, Jones asked Obrock to be the baby's godmother and hope to celebrate the moment when it's safe to do so.
"She's a miracle," Obrock said of Jones. "Her and her baby."
