Long-term COVID-19 patient urging people to get vaccinated
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Dr. Anthony Fauci says everyone should be up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. While serious COVID-19 cases have decreased, millions of families are still dealing with lingering effects.
We have an update on a new mother who has finally emerged from the grips of the virus. She missed the birth of her baby in the grips of a serious bout with COVID-19.
Now, this new mom is embracing a second chance at a new beginning with an important message for everyone.
Marissa Fuentes is finally running toward a bright future.
"I like to think that I'm probably in a better shape than I am now than I was before I got sick," Fuentes said.
Marissa just celebrated her 30th birthday at the family's new home in South Carolina where they're busy building a new life.
It's a drastic change since last October when she left Lankenau Hospital on a stretcher, and after a 5-and-a-half-month battle with COVID-19.
''And, you know, looking back it's still very hard to believe that everything happened the way it did. And I still, you know, it still kind of catches me off guard a little bit," Fuentes said.
She was pregnant when she was hospitalized with COVID-19. Her son was delivered via C-section as she was fighting for her life in a medically induced coma on a ventilator.
She didn't meet the baby until he was five months old.
When CBS3 first met Marissa last October, she had a tracheostomy and struggled to talk about her COVID-19 infection.
"It was very tough, I felt very weak and tired," Fuentes said.
Marissa and her husband Adrian were clear about one thing, their gratitude for the medical team at Lankenau.
"They absolutely saved her life and they didn't give up on her even in the most difficult times," Adrian said.
"They really, they'll never really realize like how much they helped me get through the hardest time of my life," Fuentes said, "You know, they're the most incredible people I've ever met."
But, no matter how far she has come, Marissa will never forget what she went through and wants others to learn from her experience.
"Get your booster shots, get your vaccines if you haven't, you know. It's extremely important because your day to be flipped upside down in a matter of minutes," Marissa said.
She adds her and the baby have no lingering issues related to COVID-19.