This tiny baby who was born prematurely weighing just 1 lb has beaten the killer coronavirus and been reunited with his mum.
Little Jorge was born weighing just 580 grams (1.28 lbs) and is the lightest baby ever treated at the Edgardo Rebagliati Hospital in the Peruvian capital Lima after his birth on 15th June.
A press release revealed his mother Lissy, 27, whose surname was not given, had been suffering from coronavirus and Hellp syndrome which typically occurs in the last three months of pregnancy and sees patients suffer haemolysis (the rupturing of red blood cells), elevated liver enzymes and a low platelet count. (https://bit.ly/395GDyA)
The tot was found to be suffering from coronavirus after his birth and placed in an incubator in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Yet despite the obstacles, he has now grown to 930 grams (2.95 lbs) and has managed to beat COVID-19.
He has been reunited with his mum who said in the press statement: “We arrived at the hospital after being transferred from Canete and as I always say, God sent us to a place where we received help and the support of human angels that have managed to keep my baby alive.
“The prognosis was not encouraging but we have been here for a month and we are here, fighting along with doctors.
“For my baby they are his second family, because he is more like a son to them. It gives me a lot of security that they are taking care of him. I can go out in peace and I am happy to see him after 30 days and knowing that he is in good hands”
Marilu Pachas, who works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the hospital said in the press statement that “this is the smallest baby born from a mum with coronavirus and the smallest that our unit has received ”.
She added that Jorge’s “little lungs are recovering” and the most-recent molecular tests were negative for COVID-19.
Zully Villanueva, a specialist in the unit, said that their “main goal was the recovery of the baby” and to have mother and child brought back into “family and social life”.
The parents can now personally visit the tot, who still requires respiratory support, as well as speaking to him through video calls as they follow the hospital’s strict biosecurity restrictions.
According to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University, Peru has registered 353,590 cases of COVID-19 and 13,187 related deaths.
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Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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