A Florida mom had only got a few minutes to hold her newborn before succumbing to the Covid infection that triggered an emergency C-section.
Kristen McMullen, 30, contracted the deadly virus three weeks before she was due to give birth. Her symptoms included pneumonia and breathing difficulties leading to the C-section’s decision.
McMullen gave birth to Summer Reign McMullen on July 27 and for “a few short minutes” she was able to hold the baby.
“She held her for a brief moment. There are two pictures of her holding Summer, then she had to go to the ICU because she had complications with breathing,” aunt Melissa Syverson said.
McMullen was then placed on oxygen, a CPAP machine, and ultimately a ventilator before she passed away on August 6.
“She never got sick, and we assumed like many people that this would just go away just as quickly as it came,” Uncle James Syverson said.
“Because with a lot of younger people – she was only 30 years old – that she would breeze through it and be back taking charge of the life.”
