A California mother died of Covid-19 complications before being able to hold her newborn daughter after they were separated immediately after birth to protect the baby.
Vanessa Cardenas Gonzalez, 33, of Whittier, Calif., Tested positive for the virus while pregnant with her daughter.
Gonzalez, who previously gave birth to two sons, contracted the virus in the late stages of pregnancy in November.
Vanessa Cardenas Gonzalez, 33, (pictured) of Whittier, Calif., Tested positive for the virus while pregnant with her daughter
Gonzalez gave birth to Heaven, pictured above, on November 9, and the couple had to separate immediately to avoid transmitting the virus.
She gave birth to Heaven on November 9, and the couple was immediately separated as a precaution to prevent the baby from contracting coronavirus,
The mother and daughter were released from the hospital after both were considered well enough to go home.
Gonzalez was instructed to self-isolate at home by her 13-year-old husband, and Alfonso feared the virus could be transmitted to the newborn.
“That can’t happen,” he told his wife at the time, according to Fox television.
“I’m sorry, but you know the baby needs to be separated now.
“We need to take precautions.”
Alfonso’s husband, pictured above, said his wife felt overwhelmed because she was not allowed to hold her newborn baby and had to settle for seeing FaceTime.
He added that his wife was broken and shattered because she could not hold the child and had to be content to see her on FaceTime.
Gonzalez’s condition turned bad within 48 hours of his birth, when he suffered a heart attack and was readmitted to the hospital on November 11.
The mother of three spent a month fighting for her life in hospital before dying on December 14.
The devastated Alfonso said that he intends to keep his wife’s personal belongings to pass on to his daughter when she grows old. “I’ll tell him this was my coast.” That was the other half of me, he said.
Speaking to USA Today, Alfonso said his daughter’s name was prophetic about what happened to her mother.
Gonzalez never managed to hold her daughter, Heaven, after suffering medical complications less than 48 hours after she was released from the hospital.
“My mother was about to go to heaven,” he said.
Family friend Desiree Vera has created a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of a funeral service.
The page has so far raised $ 42,558, exceeding the $ 10,000 target.
The page reads: “To all our friends, family and church members, we heartily announce the passing of a wife, a loving mother, daughter and friend Vanessa Cardenas Gonzalez.
Vanessa’s husband, Alfonso, and the children sent best wishes to Gonzalez as he battled Covid-19 in the hospital.
“Vanessa gave positive results at COVID-19 a few days before giving birth to a beautiful Heaven Leigh Gonzales baby girl.
“He could not keep her or have any contact with her first daughter (whom she was very happy to meet).
“She was sent home and was given quarantine instructions from the baby and her family just to see her baby on FaceTime.
“The next morning, Vanessa was rushed to the hospital, where she suffered a heart attack causing brain damage. She spent her last days in a fan at UCLA.