An unvaccinated mother of three passed away on Sunday without holding her newborn son following a diagnosis of COVID-19 and pneumonia, according to her family.
Marrisha "ReRe" Kindred Jenkins was diagnosed on September 4, a month before she was due to give birth, but she went into labor three days later on September 7 and delivered a baby boy.
The baby, called Jaylen, was premature but healthy and was placed into quarantine before Marrisha had the opportunity to hold him. She would never get the chance.
Marrisha and her husband, Joshua Myles Jenkins, were set to visit baby Jaylen on Sunday.
According to a GoFundMe page the family has set up, "On Sunday morning, her and Myles were preparing to see their newborn for the first time."
"As she started getting ready, she having a hard time breathing. She went to take a bath, and they heard a noise. When they checked on her, she had a weak pulse. At that point, Myles called 911 and started CPR. Marrisha coded on the way to the hospital and upon arrival," the page says.
"Due to this, she was placed on a ventilator. After further assessment, the doctors determined Marrisha had severe brain damage. She lost her fight to COVID-19 on September 23, 2021."
Joshua Myles Jenkins told Atlanta's WSB-TV: "She was just loving.
"You just felt happy every time you got around her," he said.
Helena Kindred, Marrisha's mother, also spoke to WSB-TV, saying she did not expect her daughter to pass away after she had been sent home from the hospital.
"She said, 'mom, they said my lungs are clear' and they sent her home," Kindred said. "We said she has some issues but I wasn't expecting what happened to her."
Kindred described the situation as her daughter was brought to the hospital on Sunday: "Myles was doing CPR before they got there and she coded in the ambulance and when they got her to the hospital, she coded again.
"At that time, with no oxygen to the brain, it caused severe damage," she said.
On Thursday, the family decided to turn off life support and Marrisha Kindred Jenkins passed away. Her mother believes things might have gone differently if Marrisha had been vaccinated.
"If she had been vaccinated, I truly believe she would not have died," said Helena Kindred.
Marrisha Kindred Jenkins is survived by her husband and three children, six-year-old Rylee, five-year-old Ayden and baby Jaylen. She did not have insurance, so the family is accepting donations via GoFundMe.
"We truly appreciate the love you guys had for Marrisha 'ReRe' Kindred Jenkins. She will be truly missed," the page says.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
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