Verna Gladden dies of COVID-19 complications days after giving birth
Verna Gladden
Two more men died over the weekend – but now we turn to the case of thirty-year-old Verna Gladden who passed away just after nine this morning at the K.H.M.H. She is a teacher at the St. John’s Anglican Primary School in Belize City and a mother of two. Gladden tested positive for COVID-19 just days before she gave birth via C-Section. Her family reports that her pregnancy, for the most, part went smoothly and she appeared to be doing well even after giving birth to her baby boy. But last week Monday she began to have problems breathing and she was re-admitted and later put on a ventilator. The family had hoped that since Gladden would survive because she woke out of an induced coma a few times but on Saturday she took a turn for the worse until she died this morning. Today we spoke with Gladden’s sister, a teacher who also tested positive for COVID-19.
Via Phone: Vanessa Gladden, Sister of the Deceased
Via Phone: Vanessa Gladden
“On Monday when I spoke to her she was complaining that she can’t breathe. She wasn’t breathing well. And so I got a call from my mom telling me that they are taking her to the hospital. She spoke to me and said her x-ray came back good. I believe that is what they told her. She tried to get a doctor or somebody to tell me what was happening and I believe they were busy or something and that is understood. So, I told her to take it easy and that she will get better and come out soon. At the same time I advised her that she didn’t need to be on the ventilator. Unfortunately they had to. As the week progressed, we were getting good news that she was stabled and we were told that she woke up twice from the sleep they put her in and they had to put her back because she wasn’t breathing well. On Saturday we got a call and we were told that she woke up again and they put her back and on Sunday we got a call to say that her health deteriorated a little. And that saddened us, right. So, we continued to pray and we had hope. She gave is time by just waking up. And we woke up this morning to the news that she had a cardiac arrest at eight o’clock and at nine o’ seven she passed. I myself can’t be with the rest of my family. My mom is trying to be strong and when I called her and told her because we are trying to make arrangements for her funeral, she didn’t take the news too well when I told her that her body is basically going from the morgue to the hole and she was devastated because she is not able to see her daughter. So, we are not coping well with this situation right now. It is very hard not being able to be close to your family to hold them; to comfort them; not being able to see your loved ones. You will live with the fact that your loved one died alone and you were not there to comfort them, not there to hold them. We prayed and prayed everyday. I want to say that this virus is not to be taken lightly. I pray and ask everybody to please follow the protocols; wear your mask; practice the proper hygiene; treat everybody as if though they are positive; protect your family and friends. I would never wish this situation on anybody”
Verna Gladden also leaves behind two children; a six-year-old daughter and her new born baby. Four other members of Verna Gladden’s family have tested positive, including her mother, sister and brother and her sister’s husband.
