A Double Miracle

It's a miracle. . . Even the doctors explained we almost didn't make it.

Yvett Camacho

In January 2021, 30-year-old Yvett Camacho of Fontana was admitted to San Antonio with life-threatening complications of COVID-19. To complicate matters, she was 29-weeks pregnant with her second child. Our team knew they had not one, but two lives at stake. 

Despite heroic efforts, it became clear that Yvett and her unborn child would need an even higher level of specialized care. San Antonio's team worked quickly to arrange air transport to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where Yvett would be placed on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) so her lungs would have a chance to recover. While Yvett was under anesthesia in preparation for ECMO, doctors delivered her baby at two-and-a-half months premature. Baby Emary Jane was stabilized and brought back to the San Antonio NICU where she spent the next month growing and getting ready for her return home.

Yvett was taken off ECMO after 10 days and was discharged from Cedars-Sinai on February 7. After testing negative for COVID-19, Yvette was able to visit Emary in our NICU for short periods of time. Despite the odds, mom and baby are both home and doing well.

 

Baby Camacho

"It's a miracle," says Yvett. "Even the doctors explained we almost didn't make it." She remembers having a vision while she was in a coma. She says her grandmother and her mother, both deceased, communicated words of encouragement. "She (her mother) spoke to me about Emary and my son Ethan, who is 7. She told me it wasn't my time to go because of the baby."

Everyone will remember patients Yvett and Emary Camacho as a double miracle--their story is truly a reflection of hope in the midst of darkness. The Camacho patient story was covered by K-CBS and K-CAL9 TV, as well as the Daily Bulletin newspaper. You can view the on-air news story by going to the KCBS website at https://losangeles.cbslocal.com and searching for "San Antonio Regional Hospital."

 

Yvett Camacho and baby

Top PIcture: Baby Emary Camacho

Left Picture:  After recovering from COVID- mom Yvett reunites with baby Emary in our NICU