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Home Arkansas Blog Arkansas woman dies of COVID-19 weeks after giving birth

Arkansas woman dies of COVID-19 weeks after giving birth

The Emily Robinson family GoFundMe page.
The Washington Post reports on an Arkansas woman who died last month after a battle with COVID-19, just three weeks after her daughter was born prematurely by emergency Caesarean section:
“Two months ago, we were sitting here talking about Carmen coming,” Eric Robison said, looking at the bassinet and other baby gear scattered around their bedroom. “Now I’m sitting here with all these gifts, Carmen is in the hospital, and my wife is gone.”
Emily Robinson, who was hospitalized for a month at Mercy Hospital in Forth Smith, was 22, according to another report in the Kansas City Star.
A nurse at the hospital, Ashlee Schwartz, helped establish a baby registry prior to Robinson’s death; after hearing news reports about the Robinsons, strangers from across the country helped purchase the needed items. A later GoFundMe account raised $16,000.
The details are hard to read:

The couple met via Facebook more than four years ago and quickly fell in love, Robison said. They married months later and began talking about having children.

She had a goofy sense of humor and felt close to her family, wonderful attributes of a caring mother, Robison said.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Emily, who had asthma, frequently wore her mask, but he didn’t, Robison said. Neither got vaccinated.

“We were young,” he said. “There are middle-aged people who get sick. You don’t think this would happen to you.” …

A day after he experienced symptoms, his wife tested positive for the virus. When she stopped feeling Carmen kicking, they rushed to the hospital, he said

They regretted not getting vaccinated, he said. …

While Emily was conscious, he wasn’t permitted to be in her hospital room. They called and texted, her pleading to see him. The last time they got to talk to each other, he watched as tears streamed down her face in a video call. She typed questions about her care, asking what was happening. She couldn’t speak anymore.

“The last thing I ever said to her was, ‘I love you,’ ” he said.

 The Post highlights low vaccination rates in Arkansas. 

The baby was born weighing 2 pounds, 9 ounces, but as of last week had grown to 5 pounds and could be released from the hospital in another week.

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“If we would’ve known, we would’ve taken way more precautions,” Eric said. “Emily still probably would’ve been here.”

 

Eric said his final “I love yous” to his wife of four years inside an ICU.

 

He says he’s sharing his story to help others, hopefully.

 

“Take this very, very seriously,” Eric said. “Like, vaccinated, unvaccinated, please take it seriously. It’s deadly, very. My wife would still be here if we took it seriously.”

 

Although Eric might be hurting, he says he puts on a brave face for his daughter Carmen.

 

“It’s like closing your eyes and taking a step forward no matter what,” he said. “That’s what it feels like because I can’t think about going forward. I just take it no matter what for Carmen.”

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