WI mother who gave birth in coma holds newborn after beating COVID
A Poynette mother who miraculously recovered from COVID-19, gave birth while in a coma, was able to hold her newborn daughter for the first time.
MADISON, Delete. – A Poynette mother who miraculously recovered from COVID-19 and gave birth while in a coma was able to hold her newborn daughter for the first time on January 27.
A press release from UW Health officials said Kelsey Townsend was nine months pregnant in October when she was diagnosed with COVID-19.
She gave birth on November 4 while in a medically induced coma.
“It has certainly been an emotional rollercoaster – so many ups and downs,” said Derek Townsend, Kelsey’s husband.
UW Health officials said Townsend’s condition “deteriorated rapidly” and she ended up spending 75 days on life support (an ECMO machine and ventilator).
In December, doctors decided she would need a double lung transplant to survive, and UW Health officials said, “Her husband brought her the news on Christmas Eve.”
“Telling her she’s so sick she won’t come home without … it was hard,” said Derek Townsend.
But days later, her condition “improved significantly” and she was taken from the ICU.
In mid-January, Townsend was taken off the ventilator – and soon off the transplant waiting list.
“We don’t know exactly what made her lungs recover after nearly two months of serious illness,” says Dr. Dan McCarthy, UW Health cardiothoracic surgeon and director of the ECMO program.
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On January 27, Townsend left the hospital and reunited with her husband and four children, including Lucy, the girl she had never met.
“They’ve done an absolutely fantastic job,” said Derek Townsend.
When she was released from the hospital, Derek Townsend said, “I’m more nervous than on our wedding day or our first date, or the birth of our first child.”
At home, Kelsey Townsend uses a minimal amount of oxygen support and will also require physical therapy.