An ICU nurse has helped stock the nursery of a newborn whose mom passed away after giving birth.
Emily Robison was seven months pregnant when she was hospitalized in August with complications from COVID. She was put on a ventilator and her health quickly deteriorated, leading doctors to do an emergency C-section two months before her due date. Emily's husband, Eric, was overwhelmed. His wife was in the hospital fighting for her life. His baby was being born two months early. It was a lot for a young dad. Baby Girl Carmen was born on August 25th. Less than one month later, Emily passed away at the age of just twenty-two.
Eric, 23, was not prepared to be a single father. With his wife in the hospital and their baby coming early, nothing at their home had been set up to take care of the new baby. Ashlee Schwartz, an intensive care unit nurse at the hospital where Emily was treated, was heartbroken over the new father’s situation. When she learned that Eric had practically none of the baby care necessities he needed, she knew she had to do something.
"I felt so called to help," Schwartz says. "I told Eric, 'I will try my best to get you everything that you need.'"
So Schwartz set up a baby registry to stock Carmen’s nursery with essentials like a crib, clothes, bottles, and diapers. She also created a GoFundMe account which has raised more than $11-thousand. Thanks to donations from co-workers, members of the community, and total strangers from across the country, Carmen’s baby registry has been fulfilled.
"All of it has been so overwhelming and it's been truly amazing knowing that so many people care," the thankful dad says. "I can't wait until Carmen gets older and I can tell her all the support she had."
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