A California mother died of complications from Covid-19 before she could hold her newborn daughter after divorcing to protect the baby immediately after birth.
Vanessa Cardenas Gonzalez, 33, of Whittier, California, tested positive for the virus while pregnant with her daughter.
Gonzalez, who had previously given birth to two sons, contracted the virus in the late stages of her pregnancy in November.
Vanessa Cardenas Gonzalez, 33, (pictured) from Whittier, California, tested positive for the virus while pregnant with her daughter
Gonzalez gave birth to Heaven on Nov. 9, pictured above, and the couple had to divorce immediately to avoid transmission of the virus
She gave birth to Heaven on Nov. 9, and the couple were immediately separated as a precaution to prevent the baby from contracting coronavirus,
The mother and daughter were released from the hospital after they were both considered good enough to go home.
Gonzalez was instructed to isolate at home, while her 13-year-old husband Alfonso feared that the virus could be passed on to the newborn.
“That can’t happen,” he told his wife at the time, according to Fox Television Stations.
“I’m sorry, but you know the baby needs to be separated now.
“We have to take precautions.”
Husband Alfonso, pictured above, said his wife felt shattered for not being allowed to hold her newborn and settle for seeing her on FaceTime
He added that his wife was broken and shattered because she couldn’t hold the baby and had to settle for seeing her on FaceTime.
Gonzalez’s condition worsened within 48 hours of giving birth when she suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized again on November 11.
The mother of three spent a month fighting for her life in the hospital before passing away on December 14.
Devastated Alfonso said he plans to keep his wife’s personal items to give to his daughter when she gets older. “I’ll tell her that was my rib. That was my other half, ”he said.
Alfonso told USA Today that his daughter’s name was prophetic of what happened to her mother.
Gonzalez was never able to hold her daughter Heaven after she suffered medical complications within 48 hours of discharge from the hospital
“Mom was about to go to heaven,” he said.
Family friend Desiree Vera has set up a GoFundMe page to cover the costs of a funeral service.
The page has fetched $ 42,558 so far, surpassing the $ 10,000 goal.
The page reads: “To all of our friends, family, and Church family, we announce with heartbreak the death of a wife, doting mother, daughter, and friend Vanessa Cardenas Gonzalez.
Vanessa’s husband Alfonso and kids sent Gonzalez best wishes while she fought Covid-19 in hospital
Vanessa tested positive for COVID-19 a few days before giving birth to beautiful daughter Heaven Leigh Gonzales.
She was unable to hold her or have any contact with her first daughter (whom she loved to meet).
She was sent home and was instructed by the baby and her family to quarantine her baby to see her baby on FaceTime.
The next morning, Vanessa was rushed to hospital, where she suffered a heart attack that resulted in brain damage. She spent her last days on a ventilator at UCLA. ‘