A 24-Year-Old Who Contracted COVID When She Was Pregnant Delivered Her Baby but Died Before She Could Hold Him

A young Louisiana mom who contracted COVID-19 when she was pregnant died on September 12—five weeks after her infant was delivered via an emergency C-section and without ever getting to hold her baby boy.

Keighlie Renee Reaux was just 24 when she passed away from complications of the virus, family friend Michelle Marcotte shared on a GoFundMe set up for her Reaux's family.

Marcotte initially wrote on the crowdfunding site that Reaux, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 26 at 38 weeks pregnant, was "fighting for her life after giving birth to her 2nd son, whom she has not even been able to hold yet."

Reaux had an emergency C-section on August 4 and delivered a healthy boy, who the family later named Krew. She was transferred to a COVID unit at a local hospital the same day, leaving her boyfriend, newborn, and mother behind. Her health "continued to deteriorate," Marcotte wrote. Reaux was placed into a medically induced coma and put on a ventilator on August 9.

"On August 21st, Keighlie's parents got the call no parent wants," Marcotte wrote. "Amie and Joe were told to get to the hospital ASAP, and bring the family as Keighlie had coded. Both of her lungs had collapsed. They were able to insert a tube into both lungs and stabilize her. She is a fighter!"

"Unfortunately, her vent settings have been close to the max or at max since her lungs collapsed," Marcotte continued. "It has been touch and go daily, sometimes hourly. We are cautiously optimistic the vent setting can move in the right direction after giving her lungs time to heal."

An update on September 12 shared the tragic news that Reaux had died. "Incredibly sad news. Keighlie lost her fight with COVID today," the update read. "There aren't words to explain the gravity of this loss. Please keep Amie and Joe, Keighlie's siblings, and her two precious sons who will never know their mommy in your prayers. They all gained an angel today, but have a long road ahead of them as their hearts are completely shattered right now."

Marcotte also shared a statement from Reaux's mother, Amie: "It is with a heavy heart that Joe and I gained a very special Angel today. Please keep our family in your prayers as this is one of the hardest days of our life. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for all the love, support, and prayers. ✝️❤️✝️."

Amie spoke with CBS This Morning and said that her daughter was unvaccinated against COVID-19. "We let our guard down," she said. "We started venturing out. We booked a family vacation. We thought, like the rest of the world, this isn't that real of a virus."

Amie shared that after a family vacation, every member of her family tested positive for the virus. All were unvaccinated and all recovered from the virus, except for Keighlie.

"The hardest part is leaving your children or your adult child to fight this virus alone," Amie said.