First-time mother Shaquilla James was 38 weeks pregnant, two weeks away from her due date when she became sick last month with a painful cough and extreme fatigue.
“I couldn’t do anything,” said James. “ I go to the emergency room and they ask me If I wanted to get tested for the flu and coronavirus. I said sure.”
Two days later, on April 5th, the results came back.
The 26-year-old South Carolina woman tested positive for COVID-19.It was something she tried to avoid her entire pregnancy, as her hometown of Clarendon County remains the state leader in cases per capita with nearly 300 confirmed cases, however, DHEC projects there could be as many as 1,900 cases.
“I just felt so bad,” said James.
“When I first found out I had it, I was embarrassed because people were making so many jokes about it on Facebook.”
Her story gets worse. Hours after learning she was the latest victim of COVID-19, James’ water broke. She was in labor, in excruciating pain from the contractions and from the symptoms of the virus and called 911 for help.
“I couldn’t do anything at all,” said James. “I couldn’t even put my own clothes on. They had to wrap a towel around me and put me in the back of the ambulance.”
Amazingly, James pushed through, giving birth to a healthy baby girl she named Aubree. Aubree tested negative for the virus, but James’ health rapidly declined.
She was given only a few minutes to hold her daughter before being transported to an ICU at a hospital in Florence County.
“Everything just went downhill from there after she left me,” James said while wiping away tears.
James’ mother and sister took Aubree home as James remained in the hospital.
She struggled to breathe, was put on a ventilator and was unconscious for five days. When James woke up, the first face she wanted to see was her baby girl’s but that wasn’t possible due to the hospital’s restricted visitor policy.
“You know no one could come up in the hospital, so I was there by myself,” she said while crying.
James and daughter reunited three weeks ago. Since then, she and her baby girl have re-tested for COVID-19 multiple times, the results, each time have come back negative.
“I’m not supposed to be here right now, I was bad off, so I’m thankful.”
With the state gearing up to reopen, James has one message for people who think COVID -19 is a joke.
“Stay home. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody, especially a pregnant person.”