It is said that the pain of childbirth tears the heart and lungs, and a pregnant mother in Texas, USA, uses her own experience to explain how difficult it is to get pregnant and have a child, and how great the mother really is. The pregnant woman, Diana Crouch, was diagnosed with COVID-19 when she was 18 weeks pregnant and was hospitalized last August. Soon after, she was transferred to the Texas Women and Children's Pavilion for intubation. After she was treated with ECMO, she experienced three more strokes and one heart attack. Fortunately, despite Diana's serious condition, she gave birth to the child at 31 weeks, and the mother and child were safe.
Cameron Dezfulian, Diana's attending physician and medical director at Texas Children's Hospital, once said, "Every day we think about whether we should continue to keep the baby in her body or whether we should deliver the baby." "Especially after Diana had a stroke and heart attack, took epilepsy medication and was in a coma for a few days, the problem became even more acute. After the safe birth of the child, Dr. Cameron lamented: "This is really incredible. ”
It is understood that at the end of July last year, Diana and her husband Chris went to Las Vegas to celebrate their wedding anniversary. When they returned, Diana began to feel headaches and exhaustion, but neither of them had been vaccinated. Diana recalls her symptoms: "I didn't think much about it because I was tired from pregnancy. ”
When she returned, her obstetrician thought she might be dehydrated and morning sickness. But then she developed a "low-grade fever" and doctors advised her to go to the local emergency room. Diana said: "We were worried because we didn't know if it would affect our baby. I went to the emergency room. I tested positive for COVID-19 and they told me I only needed to monitor my oxygen levels. ”
Two days later, on August 6, they returned to the emergency room. Diana said in an interview: "I didn't care at the time, because after my colleagues I knew had COVID-19, they only hung up oxygen cylinders in the hospital for a few days and then went home. I thought we could go home in five days. Unfortunately, I stayed in the hospital for 139 days. ”
For the first three days, Diana was also able to take oxygen. But soon after, the mother-to-be's condition continued to deteriorate, and doctors wanted to put her on a ventilator, but Diana's condition did not improve, and doctors worried that prolonged use of the ventilator might affect her lungs.
Dr. Cameron explained that her condition began to deteriorate and the doctor recommended that she undergo ECMO treatment, "ECMO is a last resort. This is her last chance to survive and the last chance for her children. ”
However, things are not getting better, and even getting worse. About a month after Diana Crouch used ECMO, she suffered another stroke and a heart attack. After the unremitting efforts of the doctors, Diana slowly began to get better. Cameron said: "So when the child was 28 weeks old, she stopped ECMO treatment, her lung function improved and her condition got better and better. She also recovered from a stroke. We brought her back to mobility, which meant she was able to get up and walk again. ”
On November 10, at 31 weeks of pregnancy, Diana successfully gave birth to the baby. At the same time, Diana was transferred to Methodist Hospital. Two days before Christmas, Diana finally came home. She said: "Coming home was very exciting for me and for a few days I was really feeling a little frustrated. It's too hard for me to accept. I haven't seen my child in a long time. ”
Since returning home, her strength is recovering. Her husband said: "Diana's hand still needs to be slowly recovered, but she can now move around. She now went up and down the stairs and held the baby. She was almost back to normal. ”
After treating such a difficult woman, Cameron said vaccinations are the best way for pregnant women to avoid severe COVID-19 symptoms and complications. "There are ample data to show that vaccines are safe and very effective in preventing serious diseases," he said.
Currently, the couple has been vaccinated. Diana admitted that she was afraid to get vaccinated during her pregnancy but now regrets it. She said: "I was very afraid that getting vaccinated in my body would affect my children. But I've learned my lesson, and now I encourage everyone to get vaccinated. ”
Nine Pai News intern reporter Chen Mengting