B.C. woman gives birth while in coma due to COVID-19
Expectant mother went to hospital in Abbotsford with what she thought were pregnancy-related symptoms
Dave McIntosh is in "uncharted territory'': he's able to holdhis newborn son close, but his wife, unconscious in a hospital bed due to complications from COVID-19, cannot.
Gill McIntosh, 37, remains in the intensive care unit of ahospital in Abbotsford, B.C., in an induced coma and on a ventilatorafter her emergency C-Section.
After starting to feel sick in the first week of Novemberchalking her symptoms up to pregnancy-related pressure and pain latein her third trimester Gilltook a turn for the worse, becomingnauseated and unable to eat.
While Dave McIntosh looked after their daughter, the mother-to-bewent to the hospital for treatment.
The last communication McIntosh had with his wife came in theform of a text saying she was being taken in for an emergencyC-section due to complications from the novel coronavirus.
WATCH | Dave McIntosh says they're unsure how his wife caught COVID-19:
Mother in induced coma
Days later, Gill is in stable condition, though she'sstill in an induced coma and on a ventilator.
"This is uncharted territory for me,"McIntosh said. "When Gill and I got married, I knew she was the one. We were goingto have a family together. The whole plan has fallen apart here."
The pair met eight years ago, were married in 2017 and welcomed adaughter to their family a year later.
The abrupt decline in her health, he said, has thrown their livesinto turmoil.
"She's everything to me,"he said. "She's my wife, she's mylife."
Hearing Gillwould be on a ventilator shocked him, and McIntosh saidhe had previously equated the condition with being on lifesupport.
"That's kind of when it all started sinking in."
He and his daughter immediately went intoquarantine as a result of his wife's hospitalization, but both have since tested negative forCOVID-19.
Newborn son is healthy
Their son is healthy and remains in hospital for monitoring. DaveMcIntosh was able to feed him a bottle on Saturday night and said hehopes to bring the infant home next week.
The support from friends and family has been overwhelming, hesaid, noting one friend has started an online fundraising campaignthat has already exceeded its $50,000 goal.
Gill McIntosh's diagnosis has not been traced back to an exposureevent, and her husband said the family is unsure how she contractedthe virus.
Her hospitalization comes amid rising case numbers and publichealth restrictions in British Columbia. The province recorded a newsingle-day record of 617 COVID-19 cases on Friday, the last day forwhich data was available, bringing the province's total to 20,985.
Dave McIntosh said his wife's abrupt decline and the suddenstress on their newly expanded family should serve as a cautionarytale for those who have previously dismissed the threat the virusposes.
"It's been going on so long that everyone gets a little bitcomplacent,"he said of the pandemic and the resulting protectivemeasures, noting he and his family followed public health guidancediligently for the sake of the expected baby.
"But now, thatclearly hasn't been enough. Everybody needs to, as much as it sucks,shut everything down right now.
"It's time to really start taking this seriously."
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