Birth and death: Unvaccinated Las Vegas mom dies after child is born

Kimmie Pavone died of COVID-19 connected Wednesday, 2 weeks aft she was enactment connected a ventilator and her lone kid was past delivered by exigency cesarean conception astatine a Las Vegas hospital.

“She tried truthful hard to person that baby, and she ne'er adjacent knew it was born. Never got to clasp her,” Vena Foster said astir her sister, who was 35.

“And that babe volition ne'er cognize however fantastic her momma was.”

Pavone’s babe girl, Jordyn Rose, was calved prematurely astatine 30 weeks with an underdeveloped lung and bleeding of the brain. She remains successful a newborn intensive attraction portion but is doing well, her aunt said.

Pavone, who had tried to go large for astir a decade, attempted to bash everything close during her pregnancy, Foster said. She did not get vaccinated against COVID-19, believing that getting the changeable could summation her accidental of a miscarriage.

Jordyn’s father, Mike, couldn’t spot his newborn until a week aft her commencement due to the fact that of pandemic restriction, erstwhile helium had recovered from his ain bout of COVID-19. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, helium was incapable to beryllium astatine his wife’s broadside from the clip she was admitted to Spring Valley Hospital until helium viewed her assemblage astatine the mortuary connected Thursday, Foster said. He would video chat and substance with her from his car successful the infirmary parking batch to beryllium arsenic adjacent to her arsenic helium perchance could.

Foster said her sister had wanted a kid for immoderate time.

“She was truthful excited to person a baby. She wanted to beryllium a ma truthful bad. … She conscionable did everything she was expected to,” Foster said of her sister, who worked arsenic a phlebotomist successful a doctor’s office.

When she tested affirmative for COVID-19 successful aboriginal August, Foster wasn’t overly concerned, since her sister was young and healthy.

Last October, much than a twelve members of their ample extended household had go sick with COVID-19 aft a household get-together, and nary had to beryllium hospitalized, including Foster, who is 16 years older than her sister and had undergone open-heart country 2 months earlier. Pavone, calved successful Utah and the youngest of of six siblings, grew up successful Boulder City.

“I said, ‘You’re going to beryllium fine. You’re going to get done this, conscionable similar the remainder of us, you’re going to beryllium fine.’ And I said, ‘as soon arsenic you cognize it, that baby’s going to beryllium here, and you’re going to beryllium capable to clasp her successful your arms.’ And that, ‘all this is going to beryllium down you.’

“And the adjacent day, she called maine and she could hardly breathe.”

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On Aug. 11, the time aft Pavone was hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new information connected the information of COVID-19 vaccination for large women. Data connected astir 2,500 women who had gotten an mRNA vaccine earlier the 20th week of gestation showed that they had nary higher rates of miscarriage than women who were unvaccinated.

Earlier information besides had shown nary information risks for women vaccinated precocious successful gestation oregon their babies.

Noting that doctors were seeing expanding numbers of large patients with COVID-19, the CDC encouraged each women to get vaccinated who are pregnant, reasoning astir becoming large oregon breastfeeding. The CDC’s proposal echoed caller recommendations from apical obstetrician groups.

“The accrued circulation of the highly contagious delta variant, the debased vaccine uptake among large radical and the accrued hazard of terrible unwellness and gestation complications related to COVID-19 corruption among large radical marque vaccination for this colonisation much urgent than ever,” the CDC said successful a statement.

Women who are large are much apt than their non-pregnant counterparts to acquisition terrible unwellness for reasons that aren’t wholly clear, but that whitethorn see reduced lung capacity, accrued weight, suppression of the immune strategy and a higher hazard of humor clots, said Dr. Michael Gardner, an obstetrician and vice dean of objective affairs astatine UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine.

If large women are vaccinated, “very, precise rarely” bash they necessitate hospitalization, helium said.

COVID-19 besides increases the hazard of a pre-term birth, Gardner said, which whitethorn effect successful semipermanent complications for the baby.

He encouraged doctors and different practitioners treating large women to speech to their patients astir vaccination.

“We request to beryllium much proactive, talking to our patients, encouraging our patients to get vaccinated portion we effort to forestall these kinds of tragedies,” helium said.

Gardner’s ain large girl heeded his proposal to get vaccinated and delivered a steadfast girl without complications past month.

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Foster said she past communicated with her sister the time earlier Pavone was enactment connected a ventilator.

“She was truthful scared,” Foster said astir the sister she described arsenic ever blessed and anxious to assistance others.

Pavone had an oxygen disguise implicit her look and was incapable to speak, but communicated done motion language, which she had been studying arsenic a mode to assistance others. Her signing was interpreted by Pavone’s niece.

The past words she signed to her sister were “I emotion you.”

Foster’s daughter, Malia Matney, has acceptable up a GoFundMe relationship for Pavone’s widowed hubby and the kid helium volition beryllium raising alone. The mates got joined 3 years agone successful Hawaii. It was Kimmie’s 2nd marriage; she’d besides tried to get large successful her first.

The widower plans to merchantability their location successful Pahrump to assistance marque ends conscionable connected 1 income.

“I talked to him this morning, and helium conscionable cried. He conscionable cried.” Foster said. “And helium says, ‘ I don’t recognize this. I don’t recognize however this happened.’”

“She was truthful healthy. She ever was healthy. All of us, we were the ones that had wellness problems. And we survived COVID. … I don’t recognize a batch of it,” Foster said done her tears.

Contact Mary Hynes astatine mhynes@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 connected Twitter.