VIRUS TRAGEDY
Pregnant nurse, 28, dies of coronavirus five days after her baby is saved by emergency C-section in ‘beacon of light’
A PREGNANT nurse has died from coronavirus five days after her baby was saved by an emergency C-section.
Mary Agyapong, 28, who "devoted her life to the NHS", was taken to hospital on Tuesday last week showing signs of the killer disease and later tested positive for Covid-19.
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Her condition quickly worsened and it is understood the decision to perform an emergency caesarean was made shortly after she was admitted.
She died at Luton and Dunstable Hospital on Easter Sunday.
Her newborn daughter, also named Mary, has been hailed as a “beacon of light at this very dark time”.
However, it is not known if the child also has coronavirus.
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust confirmed Mary was one of its nurses.
'BEACON OF LIGHT'
Chief executive David Carter said: “Mary worked here for five years and was a highly valued and loved member of our team, a fantastic nurse and a great example of what we stand for in this trust.
“She tested positive for Covid-19 after being tested on April 5 and was admitted to the hospital on April 7.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Mary’s family and friends at this sad time.”
On a account which has raised over £55,000 for Mary's family, colleague Renai Mcinerney paid tribute, writing: “Sister Mary was my colleague, I worked alongside her for a few years.
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“She deserves her family to be looked after, after she devoted her life to the NHS as a nurse.
“It’s time to look out/after our own and return the selflessness persona Mary carried and give something so small, but so big to her family in this time of need. RIP sister Mary!”
Mary, who has a two-year-old son, had been on maternity leave and had not been in contact with any patients while infected.
She acquired the infection in the community and not in the hospital.
Her husband, Ernest, was reported to be self-isolating.
TRIBUTES TO NHS HERO
Hospital sources told Channel 4 News there has been shortages of gowns and rationing of masks including while Mary was working there.
They said the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) had caused widespread discontent among the medical staff treating Covid-19 patients.
A hospital spokesman refuted that claim, telling Sun Online: "We have not experienced significant shortages of PPE during the outbreak."
NHS bosses also insisted Mary never treated coronavirus patients while she was pregnant.
But organisations supporting pregnant UK medical workers said many had been told they must go to work, sometimes without PPE.
'DISCONTENT AT HOSPITAL'
Joeli Brearley, of campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “The death of Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong could have been prevented.
“A child will now grow up without her mother – this tragedy could have been prevented.”
The current guidance is that medical staff who are less than 28 weeks pregnant can treat non-coronavirus patients.
Mary was one of four NHS and care workers revealed yesterday to have died after contracting Covid-19 as the UK’s daily death toll rose by 761.
They included Dr Peter Tun, 62, a neurorehabilitation specialist at the Royal Berkshire Hospital for more than 20 years.
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His family said he would be remembered as a “superhero dad” to his two children.
“In a statement they said: “To us, he was simply the best human we know and we will miss him every day.”
Elsewhere, the daughter of 41-year-old nurse Leilani Medel is being looked after by carers after she died.
Leilani, originally from the Philippines, had lived and worked as a nurse in the Bridgend area of South Wales for more than ten years.
Her health worker husband, Johnny, 39, has also been left fighting for his life with the virus.
A neighbour said: “It is devastating. She was so young and had half her life ahead of her.
“She was a lovely mum and totally dedicated to her work as a nurse.
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“Everyone is feeling for her young daughter because her dad is in hospital with this thing.”
Cheryl Williams, a housekeeper on an elderly patient ward at North Middlesex University Hospital in Edmonton, North London, has also died after contracting Covid-19. Colleagues called her “irreplaceable”.
And mum-of-one Linnette Cruz, 51 — a dental nurse in Swansea — has died after fighting coronavirus for a month in hospital.
At least 48 NHS staff, care home workers, hospital employees, and other health workers, have died so far in the coronavirus crisis.
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Nurses have reported being forced to share equipment despite being on the frontline of the pandemic.
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