Meet Baby Reeda, the little girl who defied the odds and who will finally get to go home after spending the first three months of her life inside a Queens hospital – during the biggest health crisis in a generation.
Her mother, Tasnim Shaheen, has been through an emotional journey since the end of March. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 at that time, as she was 24 weeks pregnant. She’d go on to spend 49 days in the hospital – 32 in a coma. Doctors warned Shaheen’s they’d need to perform an emergency C-section to save the baby’s life.
“I still remember when the doctor called me, (he said) ‘We want to do the C-section, at least we can save one person. We don’t know if she’ll survive or not,” Shaheen’s husband said.
“The baby could’ve died if we didn’t decide at that point to get the baby out,” the doctor said.
The medical staff at Jamaica Hospital was not only able to save Shaheen, but also her baby, who was born weighing just over two pounds. Little Reeda then spent more than 60 days in the neo-natal intensive care unit, with doctors calling it a miracle she has done so well.
“I was only praying to God, please, save my wife for my baby. I don’t want her to grow up without her mom,” Shaheen’s husband said.
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When Shaheen finally awoke from her coma, she was unaware she had already given birth. Her husband said that even a week afterward, she would still think she was pregnant. He said she lost her memory during that time.
The new mom only got to meet her daughter a week ago, but already she can’t imagine life without her.
“Oh my God. I feel like I’m holding the whole world,” Shaheen said as she held Reeda.
