The novel coronavirus has given a challenging time for people all over the world. Hospitals are getting overcrowded and frontline medical workers are running out of personal protective gear, and tens of thousands of patients have already surrendered to this deadly virus. But, amidst all the chaos, sparkles of hope and positivity too are visible.
Erin Bates, daughter of Emma and Wayne Bates, is a 6-month-old baby girl who was diagnosed with COVID-19, just after facing a major cardiac surgery. Erin’s life was a battle all the way, and despite all odds, she proved herself a fighter after beating COVID-19.
Fast forward into Erin’s story, her parents were attempting to conceive for nearly ten years before they were blessed with Erin. Baby Erin came into this world on October 8th, 2019. But, she was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare and dangerous heart defect, just two months later. Since then, this little warrior underwent major surgeries essential for her survival.
On December 23rd, Erin faced the Fallot heart repair surgery and spent a week in intensive care before being moved to the cardiac ward. Two days later, Erin contracted RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) that infects the respiratory tract and was moved to the ICU again. As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, Erin’s lungs collapsed and she was later diagnosed with bronchomalacia, a disease that weakens the cartilage in the walls of bronchial tubes, and tracheomalacia, a condition that causes the airways to constrict.
Soon, it reached the point where Erin was unable to breathe without external support. Since then, Erin stayed at the hospital, and contracted the coronavirus on April 10th, extending her ongoing hospital stay. At this point, Erin was recognized as a warrior who fought against everything that challenged her life, and despite her life being on the edge, she pulled through COVID-19 miraculously.
According to Erin’s dad Wayne, Erin’s recovery proves that the virus is not a death sentence for those with pre-existing conditions. To much of her parents’ relief, Erin now lives with a smile on her face.
Watch below the video that captured Erin’s removal from the isolation ward after beating COVID-19.
Being the feel-good kind of news with only positive vibes, Erin’s story started to spread like wildfire throughout the internet. A GoFundMe campaign too was launched to assist Erin’s family, so consider providing with donations here. Not only that, join Erin’s Journey Facebook group, set up by Emma and Wayne, to stay updated on Erin’s life and her medical treatments.
This is how the internet showed their support to the Bates family
Reading, creative writing, poetry writing, and language learning have been my passions since I was young. I have won many Japanese and Chinese language competitions, and many national-level creative writing, art & oratory competitions too. I am still schooling, and passed my O/Levels with distinction passes for English Literature, Japanese, and English. I have also completed my Certificate of Human Resource Management.
