Angela Primachenko was 33 weeks pregnant when she started to feel sick last month. The 27-year-old respiratory therapist from Vancouver, Washington was immediately concerned and was tested for coronavirus on March 22. Two days later, her test came back positive. Primachenko was admitted to Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU) and placed in a medically-induced coma.
As Primachenko’s symptoms worsened, doctors decided to place her in a medically-induced coma. Days later, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, who has since tested negative for the virus.
“I feel like I’m a miracle walking,” Primachenko told the TODAY show via phone on Monday. “It was just extremely mind-blowing.”
Her daughter’s name, Ava, means ‘breath of life.’ “So she’s our new little breath of life,” Primachenko said.
Primachenko’s health soon began to improve, and on April 6th, she was taken off the ventilator. On the day she left the ICU, hospital staff gave the new mom a “standing ovation” as she was wheeled out.
While her husband, David, and 11-month-old daughter Emily have both tested negative for COVID-19, Primachenko will have to test negative for coronavirus twice before she can hold Ava, who remains in the NICU. Meanwhile, David has been able to be with their daughter, and Primachenko visits with her via FaceTime.
Primachenko’s twin sister Oksana kept loved ones updated on her health during the hospitalization and started a GoFundMe to help pay her sister’s medical bills.
“My twin not only survived COVID-19 but also gave birth while being under an induced coma … we all didn’t even know that’s possible,” Oksana wrote in an Instagram post. “The last two weeks I wasn’t sure if I would ever take a new picture with her. She is pure gold and I wouldn’t want a world without her.”
In her interview with TODAY, Primachenko left viewers with this, “There’s hope. Even in the hardest days and hardest times, there’s hope.”
Coronavirus Coma: Source
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