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Almost three months after giving birth in a coma with Covid-19, a woman in Wisconsin first met her newborn baby last week.
Kelsey Townsend, 32, was recently released from a hospital in Madison, Wisc., And reunited with her husband and four children, including her baby girl Lucy. She said it was “amazing” to hold her daughter when she got home.
“I had been waiting a long time to meet her and was delighted,” Townsend told NBC News.
At the end of October, she was nine months pregnant when she was diagnosed with Covid-19. Shortly after contracting the virus, Townsend, who had no pre-existing conditions, was admitted to a nearby hospital with shortness of breath, cough and pneumonia, according to her husband, Derek Townsend. There she was placed in a medically induced coma and gave birth to Lucy, who tested negative for the virus and then joined the rest of the family at home.
Townsend’s health quickly deteriorated and she was transferred to UW Health in Madison, where she spent several months on an ECMO machine and ventilator.
“There wasn’t much of a certainty that she would come home. There were many nights I got phone calls from doctors saying they didn’t think she was going to spend the night – it was an emotional roller coaster, ”Derek says.
In December, doctors said Townsend needed a double lung transplant to survive, and she was placed on a waiting list. Derek said he broke the news to his wife on Christmas Eve, telling her that “she was not getting better and couldn’t go home without the transplant.”
Within days of being added to the waiting list, Townsend’s lung condition improved dramatically, and in mid-January she was moved out of the intensive care unit and weaned from a device. ECMO and a fan. She no longer accepts double lung transplant offers.
UW Health cardiothoracic surgeon and director of the ECMO program, Dr Daniel P. McCarthy, who has treated Townsend closely, said he didn’t know what caused his lungs to rebound after battling the virus for months.
“We really don’t fully understand why some people recover and others don’t… or what all of a sudden triggers the lungs to repair and heal themselves in a way that allows us to make the progress we’ve made. Said McCarthy.
On January 27, Townsend was released from hospital and is currently on supplemental oxygen and physical therapy.
“Her strength throughout this process is what inspired our whole family to be strong. Several times she was on the ground, but she got by, ”Derek said.
Although it takes months for Townsend to recover and regain strength, McCarthy said he is optimistic that she will fully recover from Covid-19.
“Kelsey has made significant strides… she’s truly an inspiration because of how she’s endured all of these challenges,” McCarthy added.
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