Remington Michael Ostwald is less than two weeks old. On March 20, his mother, Colleen Ostwald started getting sick.
“I thought I was going to die,” Colleen Ostwald said.
Her pregnancy was already a high risk. It took three tries to get a coronavirus test -- and she tested positive.
Update April 19 -- Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 31,424; Death toll now at 2,391 with 3,237 recoveries reported
At 37-weeks pregnant, she felt so weak, she didn’t think she could deliver if her baby came early.
“It gets to the point where you can’t breathe,” Ostwald said. "Then I was having uncontrollable shaking because I was freezing. This little tough guy kept kicking and moving the whole time, which gave me comfort. I knew he was okay.”
When it was time to deliver, Ostwald had to make sure her local hospital had a plan.
It did. A negative pressure room was ready with doctors and nurses geared up in full PPE.
She was fearful she would pass the virus to her baby. The CDC said it’s unlikely, but a mother can pass the virus to a newborn.
“Because I was positive, one of the doctors said, ‘We are not letting you have your baby. We are taking him as soon as he’s delivered.’” Ostwald said.
She fought that order and had to wear a face mask after Remington was born and was confident she would not spread COVID-19 to him.
He developed a fever and was taken to be monitored for four days.
“When you leave the hospital without your baby in your arms that’s when you have a melt-down," Ostwald said.
But Remington never got COVID-19.
“He’s just perfect," Ostwald said. “Everything about him.”
Ostwald is now in the clear and has a message for expecting mothers.
“You can have the cornoavirus and still have your baby," she said. “I consider him my superhero. To me, he is a superhero. It will be a very interesting story to tell him when he gets older.”