Mother sees baby for first time in 8 weeks after COVID-19 diagnosis

The coronavirus pandemic has separated so many families, as people social distance to protect each other. For one mother, that separation started the moment she delivered her daughter and continued for almost two months."It literally felt like I was going to die. It was really terrifying," said Anny Caruso. She was 31 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with COVID-19. Mild symptoms quickly got worse and she was hospitalized twice. Doctors told her they were concerned about her health and that of her baby."They needed to do an emergency C-section to get her out so I could recover. I remember just telling her that I just wanted to be able to raise my kids, to really make the best decision for me," Caruso said. Her daughter, Ava, was delivered in early March and taken to the neonatal intensive care unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. But Caruso could not enter the unit while she was COVID-19-positive.As she recovered, she was tested weekly to see if the infection was gone. For seven weeks, those tests kept coming back positive and Caruso could not be with her daughter."That is really a foreign experience for us," said Dr. DeWayne Pursley, chief of neonatology at BIDMC. He said families are an integral part of a baby's care team. While COVID-19-positive parents can not come on the unit, staff used iPads and FaceTime to keep Caruso updated."We try to really find that sweet spot between safety and encouraging that connectiveness, that access and bonding. That wasn't enough in this situation. This was not anticipated," Pursley said.So the NICU staff came up with a plan to bring Ava to her mother. Wearing their own protective gear and with Ava in an isolette, nurses carefully wheeled outside to a waiting car. Caruso was there, along with her husband and toddler son, to see Ava. "It was just so emotional and so amazing to see her, even though it was bittersweet that I couldn't touch my daughter," Caruso said.It was a moment NICU nurse Sonya Elenbass, who's been caring for Ava, will never forget."It's hard to put into words. Just to see Anny's eyes through the car. She was crying and had her hand on the glass and it just broke my heart," Elenbass said. Good news was around the corner. Just a few days after that visit, Caruso finally tested negative and once again made the trip to BIDMC. Though gowned and masked, this time she got to hold her baby girl."It was definitely very special what they did for us and we are so thankful," Caruso said.

The coronavirus pandemic has separated so many families, as people social distance to protect each other. For one mother, that separation started the moment she delivered her daughter and continued for almost two months.

"It literally felt like I was going to die. It was really terrifying," said Anny Caruso.

She was 31 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with COVID-19. Mild symptoms quickly got worse and she was hospitalized twice. Doctors told her they were concerned about her health and that of her baby.

"They needed to do an emergency C-section to get her out so I could recover. I remember just telling her that I just wanted to be able to raise my kids, to really make the best decision for me," Caruso said.

Her daughter, Ava, was delivered in early March and taken to the neonatal intensive care unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. But Caruso could not enter the unit while she was COVID-19-positive.

As she recovered, she was tested weekly to see if the infection was gone. For seven weeks, those tests kept coming back positive and Caruso could not be with her daughter.

"That is really a foreign experience for us," said Dr. DeWayne Pursley, chief of neonatology at BIDMC. He said families are an integral part of a baby's care team. While COVID-19-positive parents can not come on the unit, staff used iPads and FaceTime to keep Caruso updated.

"We try to really find that sweet spot between safety and encouraging that connectiveness, that access and bonding. That wasn't enough in this situation. This was not anticipated," Pursley said.

So the NICU staff came up with a plan to bring Ava to her mother. Wearing their own protective gear and with Ava in an isolette, nurses carefully wheeled outside to a waiting car. Caruso was there, along with her husband and toddler son, to see Ava.

"It was just so emotional and so amazing to see her, even though it was bittersweet that I couldn't touch my daughter," Caruso said.

It was a moment NICU nurse Sonya Elenbass, who's been caring for Ava, will never forget.

"It's hard to put into words. Just to see Anny's eyes through the car. She was crying and had her hand on the glass and it just broke my heart," Elenbass said.

Good news was around the corner. Just a few days after that visit, Caruso finally tested negative and once again made the trip to BIDMC. Though gowned and masked, this time she got to hold her baby girl.

"It was definitely very special what they did for us and we are so thankful," Caruso said.

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