By WTVC Staff | November 21, 2020 at 10:19 AM EST – Updated November 21 at 10:20 AM
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WTVC) – A Tennessee new mom says she learned how dangerous the coronavirus can be the hard way, from her hospital bed.
Now she’s sharing her experience with others and hopes they take the warning serious.
“And I took COVID very lightly before. I didn’t care about wearing a mask. I thought that was stupid. Well, it’s not, because this COVID is real,” Emily Brown said.
Brown went to hospital when she was 31-weeks pregnant because her COVID-19 symptoms had gotten so severe she couldn’t breathe. She was put on a ventilator for 20 days and then given a tracheotomy to help her speak.
Her second day on the ventilator brought them all a surprise.
“I couldn’t believe it at first, I had a baby!” Brown said.
Tucker Brown spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit where doctors used a feeding tube to help him eat.
His family is relieved that there was no COVID-19 diagnosis for Tucker.
The NICU’S medical director says luckily that’s often the case when a pregnant mom gives birth with the virus.
“If the child is negative then that actually, you know, is fantastic, and is usually what we see,” Doctor Anuj Sinha said.
As for Brown’s family, they sat at home and prayed she and Tucker would be OK. Doctors told them she wouldn’t make it.
“Once you go on the ventilator you never come off, of course that was fear,” Brown said.
Now, they are calling her survival and Tucker’s appearance a miracle.
“Wear a mask. I don’t like it either. It’s not enjoyable to have thing on your face. But it’s far better being in a hospital on a ventilator with your family wondering if you are going to make it or not,” Brown said.
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