IT'S A MIRACLE

Newborn baby Aurora survived Covid-19 after the virus swept through her stricken family

- LESEGO SEOKWANG

BECOMING parents can be magical – but when something goes wrong and your child ends up fighting for their life, it can be terrifying too. Just ask Angelique Wells and her partner, Kyle Wileman, from Benoni inGauteng.

While their baby was fighting for herlife, their son was in hospital and another child was sick at home with Covid.

Angelique and Kyle had been together for two years and when they fell pregnant last year they were delighted. Their baby daughter, Aurora, arrived just as the raging third wave of Covid-19 infections was starting to loom on the horizon.

As stressful as it was, the couple consoled themselves that they’d done everything they could to ensure their family was safe – they wore masks, practised social distancing and regularly sanitised. Angelique even opted for a home birth to limit her exposure to the virus.

But as she was about to find out, plenty of drama and heartache lay in store when her family was struck by a Co vid-19 storm.

First, her son Blake (2) started getting sick. The following day she herself developed a terrible sinus-like headache. Then little Aurora started battling to breathe. When the baby’s condition deteriorated, Angelique and Kyle rushed her to Linmed Hospital.

As part of hospital protocol, Angelique was tested for Covid-19. When her test came back positive, she prayed her baby would be spared.

The mom of four was relieved when the newborn tested negative – but the little girl wasn’t out of the woods.

Aurora had contracted the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes infections in the lungs and respiratory tract. Because RSV and Covid-19 are both respiratory viruses, some of their symptoms can be similar.