Having your first child is an exciting but certainly stressful moment for any parents but in the midst of a global pandemic, the stakes are even higher. A Triad family knows that all too well.
"It was the best day of our lives but also the worst."
It is certainly not how Jordan and Jon Eric Johnson thought the birth of their first child would go: the couple together only through a FaceTime Call. The day before Jordan was scheduled to deliver their baby girl, Olivia Rose, Jon Eric was tested for COVID-19.
"[They] came out and said, 'I'm sorry you're positive.'"
Jordan tested negative before going to the hospital but two days after having Olivia, that changed.
"I was terrified not for myself but for Olivia," Jordan said. "I mean I was thinking I'd be OK but I didn't know how it would affect her and if she got it what her symptoms would be, if she would have to be hospitalized, if I could be with her if she did have to be hospitalized. It was just all of these racing thoughts."
Dr. Anna Miller-Fitzwater, who took care of them at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, said an entire team was planning for Olivia's arrival.
"We actually had a conference with all three departments, all three service lines, before Mrs. Johnson came in to say how can we make this the safest for the family and we decided to play it a little per cautious but again keep mom with Olivia with several precautions," Dr. Miller-Fitzwater said.
Jordan wore a mask nearly 24 hours a day, only taking it off to eat, shower and brush her teeth. Jon Eric saw Olivia in person, masked and through a glass door.
Two months later, the Johnson family is together and healthy and Olivia never got sick. Even with this story's happy ending, this new family says they wouldn't wish it on anyone.
"Take the precautions and stay safe because it's not worth missing out on those special moments," Jordan said.