Twin babies defy the odds to survive after pregnant mum put into a 10 day coma due to coronavirus
A woman has given birth to twin girls after testing positive for coronavirus and being put into a 10 day coma while she was pregnant.
Danielle Martin, 32, had been rushed to hospital after struggling to breathe when she was nine weeks pregnant with what she believed to be one baby.
Having tested positive for COVID-19, she was placed into an induced coma after her condition deteriorated, leaving dad-to-be, Bryan Green, 32, fearing for the lives of both his partner and unborn child.
Martin woke from her coma after 10 days and rang Green with the incredible news that they were in fact expecting twins.
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Martin gave birth on 7 October, to Ava and Amelia, and the family are now happily recovering at their home in Shankill, Belfast.
“It’s feels like a miracle for us,” said Green. “They’re our wee princesses.
“It's amazing having them home, it's obviously lifted the mood in the house.
“Everyone is happy, Danielle is buzzing.”
Mum-of-five, Martin, had felt like she was suffocating and had been rushed to the hospital on 30 March with suspected pneumonia.
“At first, I just had a sore throat, which led to a bad chest and I thought it must be a chest infection but I could barely breathe after six days,” she said.
“It felt like I was suffocating so Bryan decided to call an ambulance who came within five minutes and took me away - I was terrified.
After undergoing scans, Martin was diagnosed with severe pneumonia.
“I was put on a ventilator which helped and though I was struggling to breathe and talk I was managing,” she recalls.
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But everything changed when Martin tested positive for coronavirus and when her oxygen levels dropped, she was put into an induced coma.
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Green, a security guard, recalled being shocked at learning his wife had been put into a coma.
“I talked to her the night before on the phone and she was eating toast in bed,” he explained.
“She said she was going to try and get her head down and then the next morning I didn't hear from her, which I thought was strange.
“I rang the hospital to say I needed to get in touch with my partner and a consultant came on the phone to tell me they’d rushed her up to the theatre and put her in a coma.
“I hung the phone up and just broke down into tears. It was really scary.”
Doctors warned that it would be ‘highly unlikely’ for their unborn baby to survive Martin’s battle with coronavirus and the expectant dad prepared for the worst.
But after 10 days Martin woke from her coma and rang the dad-to-be with an incredible announcement.
“I got to speak to her on the phone and asked her about our baby straight away, but nothing prepared me for when she said there's two babies in there,” he said.
“I couldn’t believe it, and even though I’m looking at them in front of me right now sleeping, I still find it unbelievable.”
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After a rollercoaster of a pregnancy, the family finally welcomed healthy twin girls in the early hours of Wednesday 7 October.
The sisters are now settling in at home with with their three big brothers, Jaiden, nine, Parker, three and Joshua, two.
And despite not getting much sleep, Green said the family are loving having the girls at home.
“I can't stop staring at them,” he added.
“We’re just so happy that everything has turned out ok after such a rocky start and that our family is finally together happy and healthy at home.”
Additional reporting SWNS.
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