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A hospital consultant whose twins were born prematurely while she was in a coma with COVID-19 said it is “amazing” that they survived.
Perpetual Uke, a rheumatology consultant at Birmingham City Hospital, fell ill with flu-like symptoms in late March.
She was taken to the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital and ended up on a ventilator, in an induced coma, and her babies were delivered by cesarean section.
When he came out of the coma, he thought they had not survived.
Ms Uke told Sky News: “I was 24 to 25 weeks pregnant, at that stage, and when I woke up I was so disoriented. I thought I had lost my pregnancy because I couldn’t see my lump anymore. I was really worried.
“Sometimes I watch them crying, I never thought they would make it. It’s amazing what professional medical science can offer.”
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Perpetual Uke, pictured with her husband Matthew and twins Pascal (left) and Palmer, says it’s amazing that their children survived
Palmer, a girl, and Pascal, a boy, were born on April 10 at just 26 weeks and weighed just 770g and 850g.
They were placed in incubators in the specialized neonatal intensive care unit.
Ms. Uke spent another 16 days in the intensive care unit, before finally meeting them.
“They were so small that they didn’t look like my older children, I couldn’t touch them, I was so excited,” she said.
Her husband Matthew was not only concerned about his wife’s life, he was also caring for premature twins and their older children Ronald and Claire.
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Uke said his wife had initially been talking to the family on video when she was admitted to the hospital, but when she was admitted to intensive care, that stopped.
“I had mixed feelings when they took the twins out,” he said, “but my wife was still in a coma, sick, I couldn’t talk to her. I was happy the twins had given birth, but the thing is, my wife coming back to House? “
Ms. Uke and the twins were released from the hospital to applause from the staff and everyone is recovering well at home.
He said he thought the twins, who are developing “wonderfully”, “would grow up to be good playmates, you see them chatting, laughing together.”
Mr. Uke said they had brought them “a lot of joy”.
