TECHNOLOGY

Mother Almost Killed by COVID Holds 2-Month-Old Baby for First Time

Autumn Carver, from Indiana, gave birth to her son in August on the day she was admitted to hospital suffering from COVID complications.

2021-10-22 09:10

After two months of separation, a mother from Indiana suffering from COVID-19 has been reunited with her baby. Indianapolis resident Autumn Carver was hospitalized in late August suffering from complications arising from the disease, according to an update posted on Wednesday to a Facebook page set up to support the 34-year-old. "To make the situation more complicated, she was also 7 months pregnant," it read. "She was put on a ventilator and eventually had an emergency c-section to deliver her son." Huxley Elias Carver was born two months early on August 27, the same day that Carver was admitted. Since then Huxley, who is home with his father, Zach Carver, and his two older sisters, Harlow and Sadie, had not been held by his mother. That changed on Tuesday when Zach Carver announced that Huxley had been able to be held by his mother for the first time. He wrote: "A surprise conversation with a doctor this morning brought us out of Isolation and a plan for Autumn to meet Huxley. "At 3 pm today she met our son and it was an amazing moment needless to say." Huxley's father went on to explain that Autumn Carver's parents, one of her best friends, and many nurses and doctors were on hand to witness the reunion. "I don't know if there was a dry eye in the area. What an amazing day," the post continued.

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Autumn Carver was left on life-support at IU Health Methodist Hospital after COVID nearly destroyed her lungs, 13 WTHR reported on September 28. Her husband told the outlet that he had not heard his wife's voice since late August. "The last time we really communicated was the 27th. She did smile at me on Sunday twice and she gave me a half-smirk yesterday. She squeezed my hand multiple times. But she's highly sedated right now letting her lungs heal," Zach Carver said. In the October 20 Facebook post, Huxley's father explained this made one moment that had occurred after the reunion between his wife and their son particularly significant for him. He wrote: "Later this afternoon I got to hear Autumn say I love Zach. What an amazing day." Carver explained this was made possible as doctors had been able to replace a larger tracheotomy device with a smaller one, that allowed her to speak.

Pregnancy and COVID-19

According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention... Pregnant people with COVID-19 are more likely to experience preterm birth (delivering the baby earlier than 37 weeks) and might be more likely to have other poor outcomes related to pregnancy compared to pregnant people without COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant. To speak to an expert about COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, contact MotherToBaby at: 1-866-626-6847 or via ContactUs@mothertobaby.org

A "Healing For Autumn Jump-A-Thon" will be held between 9 am and 9 pm at Kelsay Farms, East Whiteland on October 30, to both celebrate Autumn Carver's birthday and to raise funds to help pay mounting medical expenses. Organizers Lindsay Clarkson and Jaime Rominger explain on an Eventbrite page for the sponsored jump the raised money is to allow the family to "focus on what matters most – healing Autumn and getting her home to her family." A GoFundMe has also been set up for the Cerver family to help with the costs of August's treatment. As of Friday, the fund had raised $50,400 of its intended $60,000 goal. Zach Carver is confident that his wife will recover from the effects of COVID. On Thursday he wrote on Facebook: "I am so proud of her and her drive. Just about everyone that comes into her room tells her to keep it up and that she has got this!