艾尔莎和维克多，索菲亚的新父母

When 埃尔莎 Reyes-Amaya learned she was pregnant in January 2020, she was surprised 和 happy. 健康的, 24岁和她的伴侣, 维克托, began the exciting journey of becoming first-time parents together.

正常妊娠或冠状病毒症状?

3月下旬，艾尔莎开始头疼. She started to run a slight fever 和 noticed some body aches. She called her doctor, who said it was probably due to her body experiencing pregnancy changes.

一个多星期后, 艾尔莎感到恶心, 腹泻和呕吐, 就在几天之后, 有一个新的, troubling symptom: She was having difficulty catching her breath.

COVID-19妊娠期肺炎

维克托 took 埃尔莎 to a nearby hospital on April 13, where she was admitted. 四天后，她的病情恶化了. She developed pneumonia 和 was transferred to The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

“Ms. Reyes-Amaya came to the hospital in critical condition,” obstetrician 安德鲁·萨丹，硕士.D.说,. “She was experiencing respiratory failure due to sudden, severe pneumonia.”

艾尔莎也出现了早期的症状 脓毒症, a potentially deadly infection of the bloodstream that can occur in critically ill patients. Satin says that although her initial tests for COVID-19 were negative, further testing showed a positive result: 埃尔莎 had SARS-CoV-2, 导致COVID-19的冠状病毒.

埃尔莎 says she doesn’t remember much of what happened once she was at Johns Hopkins. 但她回忆起的事情让她哭了, especially when she thinks about the dangerous situation she 和 her unborn baby were in. “这件事仍然很难启齿，”她说.

艾尔莎不知道她是如何感染冠状病毒的. 她和维克多住在同一个家里, 他的母亲和他的兄弟, 没有人感染COVID-19.

COVID-19呼吸机治疗

Despite supportive care at Johns Hopkins, 埃尔莎’s condition continued to worsen.

萨丹解释说，在怀孕期间, normal changes affecting the lungs help an expectant woman take in 和 absorb more oxygen as she breathes for herself 和 her fetus. When pregnant women get pneumonia, these changes can make the illness more severe.

At first, 埃尔莎 was treated with extra oxygen, but it wasn’t enough. As her breathing became more difficult, she had to be placed on a ventilator. 她的护理小组给她开了药，使她进入深度睡眠. 然后, the team inserted a breathing tube into 埃尔莎’s throat to push oxygen into her lungs 和, 本质上, 在她昏迷的时候帮她呼吸.

她的意识忽来忽去. Like other patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in an intensive care unit (ICU), 她做了令人不安的噩梦. 当她恢复知觉时, 她还是很害怕, 和 it was only after calling family members that she knew the upsetting dreams were not real.

转危为安转向产科护理

At other moments, 埃尔莎 recalls hearing a calming, loving voice talking to her. “这就像一场梦. I know I was asleep, but I felt like it was God talking to me,” she says.

她的家人隔着必要的距离看着她的进步. (以保护患者和工作人员免受冠状病毒的侵害, Johns Hopkins hospitals do not allow visitors during the COVID-19 p和emic except in very limited, 异常情况.)

The intensive care team removed 埃尔莎’s breathing tube on May 5. “当我醒来时，我非常惊讶. 我以为我已经睡了两天了, but the nurse told me that I had been on a ventilator for more than two weeks.”

Satin 和 the rest of 埃尔莎’s health care providers were excited, cautious 和 hopeful. Because COVID-19 is a new illness, its effects on unborn babies are still not clear.

“Once 埃尔莎 regained consciousness 和 realized she was out of danger from the 冠状病毒 infection, 她急于把注意力集中在怀孕上,萨丹说. “我们做了超声波检查, 和 the first question 埃尔莎 asked was whether we could tell the sex of the baby. 护士眼里含着泪水. 非常感人.”

Satin notes that his team, including most of the fellows 和 attending doctors in the Division of 母胎医学我认识了艾尔莎.

埃尔莎 was happy to be out of the worst danger 和 delighted to be expecting a little girl, 但从COVID-19中恢复过来是艰难的. 疾病吞噬了她的身体. She missed her family, 和 despite the encouraging ultrasound, she was concerned about her baby. “The doctors were telling me I would be fine, but I still felt afraid 和 stressed,” 埃尔莎 says. “他们继续做了很多测试. 我不停地祈祷，祈求上帝保佑我的女儿.”

“所有的医生和护士都对我很好,” 埃尔莎 says. “我觉得受到了保护。. And I appreciated the doctors communicating with me 和 explaining what was happening.

“I wish I remembered the names of everyone who took care of me, but I do remember their faces.”

在冠状病毒中生存

埃尔莎 says her experience made her aware of how serious COVID-19 can be.

“Do not look at this disease as a game, because it’s terrible,” she says. “I’ve seen other people who go out 和 do not take precautions. 我不是医生, but I do know that if we end up having to live with COVID-19 in our community, people will have to take care of themselves 和 their families 和 stay safe.”

埃尔莎 says she had some lingering anxiety, even when she returned home to her family. “我非常害怕再次生病. 但我的宝贝给了我力量.”

一个新的女儿和新的希望

On July 31, baby Sofia was born — a little early, a little small, but very lucky. “I was happy to be attending, so I could be there for 埃尔莎 when she gave birth,萨丹说. “We felt like it was a big save: both patients — 埃尔莎 和 Sofia — 和 a family as well.”

Satin notes that while some patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia do not survive, 埃尔莎’s youth 和 lack of many risk factors improved her chances.

“这是一个令人振奋的案例，”萨丹说. “Ms. 雷耶斯的重症监护室团队值得表扬, 不仅仅是为了她的幸福结局, 她的孩子和她的家人, 也感谢我们所有有幸照顾她的人.”

要当妈妈了，艾莎很激动, 和 she says concentrating on her baby got her through her toughest moments. “感谢上帝，索菲亚没事，”她说. “她是一个天使. 我真为她骄傲.

“一切都围绕着她.”

了解更多关于 冠状病毒 和 母胎医学.