Baby delivered in Abbotsford while mom in ICU with COVID-19

ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) — Dave McIntosh hasn’t been able to communicate with his wife Gillian since Tuesday, when she sent him a text from the hospital saying she was being taken in for an emergency C-section because of complications from COVID-19.

“It’s been a crazy, whirlwind, nightmare week,” Dave says.

Gillian has given birth to a baby boy, but she doesn’t know it because she’s heavily sedated and on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit at Abbotsford Hospital.

“She knew that they were going to do a C-section but anything after that she has no idea, she doesn’t know that she’s given birth, she doesn’t know it’s a boy, she doesn’t know how healthy he is, or anything. I haven’t been able to see her or anything, I mean I understand the protocol and all that but it’s really tough not even being able to see her, or communicate with her,” Dave says.

“From what I understand, she’ll be on the ventilator for at least a few more days. Her lungs just took such a beating that they need all the help they can get right now just to let her body try and fight through this.”

Gillian first started having symptoms last Thursday but since she was late in her third trimester, she thought it might be pregnancy-related pressure and pain.

“Friday night she was in a lot of distress, could barely breathe, and just said to me I need to go, something’s not right so she went to the hospital and then they did some tests on her and Saturday she found out she was positive and had pneumonia,” Dave explains.

Doctors opted to keep Gillian in the hospital to monitor her.

“Her situation got quite bad, her breathing became very impaired so they made the decision that they had to do an emergency C-Section,” Dave says.

I have just had a conversation with Dave McIntosh of Abbotsford, whose wife had to give birth by emergency c-section, after she came down with COVID. She is so heavily sedated, she isn't really aware she gave birth @NEWS1130

— Renee Bernard (@Renee1130) November 14, 2020

The couple’s baby boy was born 15 days before the Nov. 25 due date, but was negative for the coronavirus.

Dave and his daughter Gemma, who is almost three, weren’t allowed to visit the baby in the NIC-U right away.

“My daughter and I were in quarantine awaiting the COVID tests which came back negative,” Dave says.

“Yesterday was the first time I got to see him and hold him. I went back today and spent some more time with him, and they told me he’s doing really good. It doesn’t sound like it will be too too long before we’ll be taking him home.”

“That’s a whole other mystery, how my wife even got it, and how we didn’t. It’s just a real mystery”

Dave says Gillian’s outings recently have been limited to doctor’s appointments and picking up Gemma at daycare. No one else at the daycare has tested positive.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family face an uncertain future.

Dave can’t work and he and Gemma will be moving in with family so he’ll have some support caring for the kids.

“Hopefully we’ll just stay at my sister’s place until Gill’s out of the hospital and recuperated and we can all go back home and find out what our new life’s all about,” Dave says.

In less than a day almost $30,000 has been raised.

“I take a look on the list of people who donated and I would take a guess that I don’t even know who 90 per cent of them are, I mean I’ve never even heard of these people. It’s just incredible how people just want to help and don’t know how to help right now. It’s just amazing, it restores a little faith in humanity to know that many strangers are willing and wanting to help people who are in a situation like mine,” Dave says.

“I never thought I’d be in this situation. I am and it sucks, but what more can you ask for.”