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Kristen Roy refused to be vaccinated because of her pregnancy. By the time she made an appointment to get the vaccine, it was too late.
INDIANAPOLIS – He’s still got a long way to go, but baby Elijah Levi Roy is here and doing better every day in the Riley Children’s Hospital NICU after being born at just 25 and a half weeks.
“The fact that he’s alive and well is a miracle,” said Elijah’s aunt Courtney Burke.
When he’s old enough to figure it out, Burke plans to tell his nephew how hard his mother, Kristen, fought to stay alive, even though she fought COVID-19, so he can stand a chance as well. to fight.
“The fact that she’s on all that life support is what gave him this time to get to where he might be born and stand a chance. A few weeks earlier, he probably wouldn’t have stood a chance, ”Burke explained.
Kristen, 38, from Franklin, just married her husband, Matthew, in December 2020 and got pregnant a few months later.
“She was very excited,” said Burke, explaining that Kristen didn’t want to get the COVID-19 vaccine right away because she didn’t know how it might affect the baby.
When her doctor recommended it, Kristen made an appointment.
“At this point it was too late,” said Burke.
Kristen tested positive for COVID-19 on July 9.
“In just a week she was hospitalized,” said Burke, adding that her sister’s condition deteriorated rapidly and she was placed on life support to give Elijah as much time as possible before her death. birth.
“Then the time came on August 13th when her stats were dropping significantly, and that’s when they called that we were going to lose her and the baby if we didn’t deliver today. hui, ”Burke recalls.
Doctors have told Kristen’s family that she may not survive the Caesarean section. She did so but was not conscious so she could meet her son.
“He never got to see her,” Burke said, bursting into tears.
Elijah Levi Roy was born on August 13 while his mother, Kristen, was on life support with COVID-19.
Two weeks later, Kristen died at IU Health Methodist Hospital, while little Elijah fought for a living.
“I think she saved his life. She held on long enough for him to be born, ”said Burke.
Still, Kristen Roy won’t be there for her son’s first birthday, his first steps or his first day of school, not in person, anyway.
“She will be with him,” said Burke, calling her sister Elijah’s “guardian angel”. Even so, it’s not what Kristen’s family would have hoped for.
“All of us together will make sure Eli has a good life, but it’s still not as good as he would have had with his mother,” Burke added.
Knowing that a vaccine could have probably prevented the death of her sister is difficult for this grieving sister to accept. “It was too late for her, but it’s not too late for so many other pregnant women. It’s not. It’s not too late yet, ”said Burke, adding that she hopes her sister’s story will convince other pregnant women to get vaccinated. “Maybe his death will not be for nothing,” said Burke.
Can COVID-19 vaccines affect my chances of pregnancy?
No, there is no evidence that vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, influence your chances of getting pregnant despite a myth suggesting otherwise.
Medical experts say there is no biological reason the injections could affect fertility. And real-world evidence offers more confidence to anyone worried about their chances of conceiving: In the Pfizer study, a similar number of women became pregnant in the group that received the vaccine than in the group that received. dummy injections.
Researchers are starting to study anecdotal reports of short-term changes in periods after the vaccine, but there is no evidence so far that the injections endanger fertility, said Dr Mary Jane Minkin, gynecologist and professor at Yale University School of Medicine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and obstetrician groups also recommend COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people, who are at a higher risk of serious illness if they are infected with the coronavirus. Research shows that pregnant people who contract the virus are more likely to be admitted to intensive care, receive invasive ventilation and die than their non-pregnant peers.
The CDC also followed tens of thousands of pregnant women who received the vaccines and found that they had comparable pregnancy outcomes to pregnant women before the pandemic.
So whether you’re planning to have a baby, trying to conceive, or undergoing fertility treatments, you shouldn’t delay vaccination, says Dr. Denise Jamieson, chair of the faculty’s department of gynecology and obstetrics. of Medicine from Emory University. (www.wthr.com)
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