Chester County Mother Released From Hospital After Spending Months At Lankenau Battling COVID
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Chester County mom who contracted COVID-19 in April is out of the hospital for the first time on Thursday -- and it was an emotional farewell for the medical team that saved her. The 29-year-old COVID survivor just recently met her baby due to spending months hooked up to machines.
After five and a half months, Marissa Fuentes is leaving Lankenau Hospital with a hero's departure after being one of their sickest COVID-19 patients.
"We love you guys dearly, thank you so much," her husband, Adrian Fuentes, said.
It was an outpouring of gratitude from Marissa and her husband Adrian for the medical team that's become like a family.
"They absolutely saved her life and they didn't give up on her, even in the most difficult times," Fuentes said.
Their ordeal started in April when they both contracted COVID-19.
"It was very tough, I felt very weak and tired," Marissa said.
Marissa still has a tracheotomy to help her breathe making it difficult to speak. The fact that she is able to talk is remarkable considering she was kept alive on a machine for months.
"We put her on ECMO which is basically the blood circulates outside the body and she's probably our longest ECMO patient we've ever had here," President of Lankenau Hospital Phil Robinson.
Complicating everything, Marissa was seven months pregnant when she first got sick. An emergency C-section was necessary to save her life.
"Enzo is doing great, he is doing fantastic growing bigger and stronger every day. It's absolutely incredible," Adrian said.
Marissa just met her son for the first time when he was five months, on her 29th birthday, the family was briefly reunited in the hospital.
"This has been the most trying, very frustrating, very sobering ordeal that we've ever had to deal with in our lives," Adrian said.
They wish most had been known about the safety of the vaccine for pregnant women back in April.
"Now, there's a lot more information out there, you know so especially pregnant mothers should absolutely go get the vaccine," Adrian said.
The CDC is now strongly recommending it.
"Get the vaccine it can save you and the baby," Marissa said.
As if the family's ordeal isn't difficult enough, baby Enzo has a genetic disease that's being treated, but the medical bills are piling up so there's a Go Fund Me page set up to help.
