A community in Maryland is grieving a mother who was diagnosed with COVID-19 just before welcoming her fourth baby. Wogene Debele's family told the Washington Post that she began exhibiting coronavirus symptoms such as loss of appetite and coughing, but when she went to Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, she was told she was not sick enough to be tested. As her fever rose and she lost her sense of smell, doctors encouraged her to stay home.
When she was finally admitted to the hospital March 25, she was eight months pregnant. She tested positive for COVID-19, was induced, and welcomed her son Levi that night a month premature, according to the Washington Post. Debele had to be separated from her son immediately.
Baby Levi was released from the NICU on April 19 after a 21-day stay. Just two days later, Debele lost her battle with the novel coronavirus.
When Debele died, she still had yet to hold her son.
According to a GoFundMe page set up for her family, Debele "was kind, joyful, and a source of strength to her family and to all who knew her."
The Maryland mom is survived by her husband, Yilma Asfaw Tadesse, and her beloved children: Mihret, 17 years old; Naod, 10; Asher, 4; and newborn Levi.
To date, the family's GoFundMe page has raised more than $244K of its $250K goal. Donations will help Debele's husband in his role as a single parent.
“We have been together for 25 years,” Tadesse told VOA. "She was the kind of person who welcomed people with open arms. My sorrow is deep and bitter."
Mayor Kate Stewart of Takoma Park, Maryland, paid special tribute to Debele on Wednesday.
Stewart began the city's virtual council meeting with a moment of silence for Debele, who was loved by the community, according to CBS News.
The mayor explains that Debele's name means "my community, my people."
"She meant so much to our community, our broader city … among the Ethiopian community in our city, and in her family," the mayor said. "She meant a great deal and it is a tragic loss for all of us right now."
Later, Debele's daughter Mihret, who serves on the city's Youth Council, sent a letter to the mayor.
On behalf of Debele's family, Mihret thanked her and the community for their support, according to CBS News.
Pregnancy doesn't appear to bump up your chance of contracting COVID-19, according to experts.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that pregnant people have had a higher risk of severe illness when infected with viruses from the same family as COVID-19 and other viral respiratory infections, such as influenza.
Heartbreakingly, that appears to have been the case for Debele.
