'This is what I was fighting for': Mother, baby enjoy first Mother's Day together since COVID-19 ordeal
By Harrison Golden
WDSU 6 News
May 9, 2021
NEW ORLEANS — Trichelle McDaniel says she has always loved Mother's Day — and motherhood. But this year's holiday holds extra value for the New Orleans mother of six, as she gets to hold her youngest son.
Sunday marked McDaniel's first Mother's Day at home since she contracted COVID-19 in March 2020.
"I'm just grateful to be here with them, to raise the little one," she told WDSU. "I'm forever grateful."
Her battle with the virus started while 35 weeks pregnant. Feeling dizzy while running errands, she drove herself to Touro Infirmary. Doctors took her temperature: nearly 105 degrees. She got an emergency Caesarian section as her condition worsened. Then she went on a ventilator, still never having seen her newborn. Weeks passed, then months.
"I thought about that every second of the day," she said. "He was the new baby that I wanted to hold, and I couldn't."
McDaniel recalls spending nights crying in the intensive care unit — until the day she thought would never come. She left Touro on May 22, walking out to a second line and holding baby Brian for the first time.
"He grabbed my face, and that's when I just broke down," she said. "This is what I was fighting for."
Her fight continues, as nerve damage from the virus lingers. She hopes to regain feeling in her left hand and parts of her foot, where surgeons amputated a few toes. That's where her children and fiancé step in.
"Helping her really, to me, seemed normal," daughter Aryn said. "There's nothing wrong about it."
The McDaniels are planning to visit Florida theme parks later this summer. In the meantime, Trichelle finds ample excitement just by looking out her front door, where a "Welcome Home, Trichelle" lawn sign has stood for almost a year.
"I look at it every day," she said. "I see it, and I'm like, yep — welcome home, Trichelle."
(This story first appeared on WDSU. Click here for the original post.)
By Harrison Golden
WDSU 6 News
May 9, 2021
NEW ORLEANS — Trichelle McDaniel says she has always loved Mother's Day — and motherhood. But this year's holiday holds extra value for the New Orleans mother of six, as she gets to hold her youngest son.
Sunday marked McDaniel's first Mother's Day at home since she contracted COVID-19 in March 2020.
"I'm just grateful to be here with them, to raise the little one," she told WDSU. "I'm forever grateful."
Her battle with the virus started while 35 weeks pregnant. Feeling dizzy while running errands, she drove herself to Touro Infirmary. Doctors took her temperature: nearly 105 degrees. She got an emergency Caesarian section as her condition worsened. Then she went on a ventilator, still never having seen her newborn. Weeks passed, then months.
"I thought about that every second of the day," she said. "He was the new baby that I wanted to hold, and I couldn't."
McDaniel recalls spending nights crying in the intensive care unit — until the day she thought would never come. She left Touro on May 22, walking out to a second line and holding baby Brian for the first time.
"He grabbed my face, and that's when I just broke down," she said. "This is what I was fighting for."
Her fight continues, as nerve damage from the virus lingers. She hopes to regain feeling in her left hand and parts of her foot, where surgeons amputated a few toes. That's where her children and fiancé step in.
"Helping her really, to me, seemed normal," daughter Aryn said. "There's nothing wrong about it."
The McDaniels are planning to visit Florida theme parks later this summer. In the meantime, Trichelle finds ample excitement just by looking out her front door, where a "Welcome Home, Trichelle" lawn sign has stood for almost a year.
"I look at it every day," she said. "I see it, and I'm like, yep — welcome home, Trichelle."
(This story first appeared on WDSU. Click here for the original post.)