In August 2021, Diana Crouch, who was 18 weeks pregnant, tested positive for COVID-19 and got hospitalized with low oxygen levels. Soon, she was transferred to Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women to be intubated. She was later placed on ECMO — a heart-lung bypass machine that gives the lungs a break — and later experienced three strokes and a heart attack.
Crouch was in hospital for 139 days. Everyday, the medical team debated whether or not to prematurely deliver the baby. It got particularly challenging when she had multiple strokes and heart attacks and was on medications for seizures and in a coma for several days.
Against all odds, she gave birth to the baby at 31 weeks and both are safely at home now.
According to Texas Children Hospital’s medical director, her survival was pretty miraculous. The reality is there’s a limited number of hospitals in the country who are able to provide ECMO support and care for pregnant women.
Image: The Crouches