Decatur woman dies of COVID-19 complications before meeting newborn son
Decatur woman dies of COVID-19 complications before meeting newborn son
Marrisha Jenkins' family wants all pregnant women to seriously consider vaccination. The 27-year-old Avondale Estates mother died from coronavirus complications and her husband said she never had the chance to meet her newborn baby.
AVONDALE ESTATES, Ga. - A 27-year-old Avondale Estates mother is dead from coronavirus complications and her husband said she never had the chance to meet her newborn baby. Instead, he said, she died the day she was cleared from quarantine and allowed to see her son.
Now, Marrisha Jenkins' family wants all pregnant women to seriously consider vaccination.
The family said Jenkins, who just married her husband this summer, had a giving spirit and was close with her kids.
They said she wanted to get vaccinated for COVID-19 after she gave birth to her son, but things spiraled out of control when she contracted the virus just before her baby was born.
"She pulled me out of a depression I didn't think anyone could," Joshua Myles said of his wife.
They were excited to welcome a baby boy into their already close-knit family.
"I’ve never seen kids love their mom so much that they never want to leave her," he said.
Marrisha, who worked in childcare, contracted COVID-19 not long before she gave birth.
The family said they wonder if the nature of her job made her more susceptible to the virus.
"She was coughing, sneezing, had headaches. She'd say 'It's just allergies,'" he said.
Doctors said it wasn't just the COVID-19 threatening Marrisha's health, but also pneumonia.
She was quarantined for 16 days after baby Jaylen's premature birth, and despite a lingering cough, she rushed to get dressed to meet him when the hospital gave the "all clear."
Jenkins called 911 after he said he heard her collapse in the bathroom but it was too late.
Doctors said Marrisha likely died from complications from the coronavirus and now her husband, who is vaccinated, wants all pregnant women considering the shot to learn from his heartache.
"At least do your research," he said. "Yes my son is okay but I sure would like to have my wife with me."
To help the family, click here.
WATCH: FOX 5 NEWS LIVE COVERAGE
_____
GET BREAKING NEWS EMAIL ALERTS FROM FOX 5
DOWNLOAD THE FOX 5 ATLANTA APP FOR BREAKING NEWS AND WEATHER ALERTS