Two months after her spouse refused to turn off her life support, a woman with a “zero percent” chance of survival who was on it managed to wake up.
A woman was informed in 2021 that she had contracted the coronavirus while pregnant. She had chosen not to receive the vaccination because she had already experienced three miscarriages.
When Autumn Carver gave birth to her son Huxley via emergency C-section at 33 weeks pregnant, she was admitted to the hospital and put on a ventilator. Shortly after her son was delivered, she was put on life support.
Autumn needed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) technology, which removes carbon dioxide from red blood cells and gives oxygenation.
Although ECMO machines were used to treat patients with severe coronavirus infections and aided lower patient mortality rates, Autumn’s chances of survival were not encouraging.
Zach, Autumn’s husband, recalled that day as the “worst day of my life” because he “was told that she had zero chance of survival.”
Before moving from IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago in October, she spent two months on the ECMO.
When she arrived, a lung transplant was anticipated; however, expert surgeon Dr. Ankit Bharat decided to give her additional time to heal independently.
According to him, there is less than a 5% chance of recovery for people who need an ECMO machine for more than a month without a lung transplant.
Dr. Bharat’s assessment that Autumn required more time proved accurate as her condition slowly but steadily improved. Nevertheless, her husband never gave up on her because he had refused to have her taken off life support.
Autumn eventually met her son Huxley on October 19 as Zach continued to track her recovery. Her husband revealed in November that she had been discharged from the intensive care unit.
The husband refused to turn off her life support.
Before being permitted to return home on December 1, 2021, to celebrate Christmas with her husband, two girls, and young son, she underwent physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
Her return home had fulfilled her girls’ Christmas wishes.
Doctors hailed her recovery as “miraculous,” noting that she could leave the hospital despite having nerve damage in her limb and a 40% lung capacity.
Dr. Bharat predicted that Autumn would still be able to “lead a normal life” with her family despite the fact that her lungs would never fully recover from the coronavirus.
