The global pandemic changed things for Monique Cook and her family as she welcomes her twins.
In her eighth month of pregnancy, Cook started to feel like she cannot breathe. She was sitting at her home when her contraction came two minutes apart. "I knew something was wrong," she said.
Due to the contractions and difficulty in breathing, she decided to rush to the Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. What shocked Cook and her family was that she tested positive for the coronavirus.
She was advised that she will undergo a cesarean section. During the entire period that things were being explained to her by medical staff, all Cook remembered was she was only trying to breathe. She was asked to count down from ten; then everything went black.
Waking up from a coma
Cook was in a coma for five days.
When she woke up, she looked down, and she no longer has a big stomach, meaning there were no babies. Cook described this as the worst part of waking up for her.
She kept on asking nurses where her babies are. A young nurse responded to cook that Cook's twins are fine.
Carrying the baby inside the womb is the essence of the waiting game for mom. However, Monique was not able to do that when she woke up. She was also not allowed to see her husband, Andre, because she was still recovering from the coronavirus.
Through Baby Pictures
While lying in a hospital bed, Cook had to make do of baby pictures to ease her sadness. Her husband sent photos of her nine-day-old babies to one of the nurses. This nurse even went the extra mile by printing the photos of Cook's baby girls.
The initial reaction of Cook was, "These are my babies." She was also emotional when she saw the photos of her lovely girls, August Sky and Angel Renee, and started crying.
Mom is Back Home With Her Family
After recovering from the coronavirus, Cook is now spending time at home with her four children.
She has two other children named Isis, seventeen years old, and Winter, four years old.
Cook and her family are very thankful for all the support that they got from the medical staff at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital.
For Cook, this is a wonderful blessing, especially since her story could have ended up differently. The number of deaths from the COVID-19 keeps on increasing every day, and Cook is one of those who survived.
Mom shares hope
Cook went through an extraordinary phase in her life. Giving birth could have been the highlight of her year, but surviving the coronavirus twisted it.
Amid this pandemic, Cook believes that everyone should hear a message of hope from someone who went through it all. She said that despite everything that is happening, people should remember that "this is going to be okay."
She also reminded everyone that we should all look forward to life after this pandemic.
