Melissa Carlton, a pregnant woman from Fresno, California, fell into a coma ten weeks ago, while undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumor.
The coma resulted from a seizure she suffered, during the surgery, and her family wasn’t sure if she, or the baby, would make it. Miraculously, they both survived, and on Thursday, May 22, Melissa was able to deliver a healthy baby boy named Nathaniel West by undergoing a cesarean section at UCSF. Baby Nathan weighed in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and seems to be doing perfectly fine.
Brian Lande, Melissa’s husband, has not left her side since the birth of his baby boy. Melissa is still in a coma, but is recovering from the C-section fine. Not only is she recovering well, Melissa is also showing some signs of improvement. She was able to open her eyes and look at her newborn son, and was able to give Brian a hug. Melissa is even able to nurse her son with some assistance. Lande is caring for his son and his wife day and night. He is having to suffer through the sleepless nights alone, but is happy to do it, and is just glad to have them both alive and well.
“She was making eye contact with the baby and that’s fairly new,” Melissa’s father, John Farrell, said. “She grabbed Brian’s cheek with her hand and she pulled his face down to her face and she gave him the first hug that he’s had since this trauma.”
“This is a story of joy, and it’s not lost on us that this is a story about Brian and his love. He has taken care of our daughter in a way that parents can only hope for, and that’s a credit to Melissa, because (she) chose him,” Farrell added.
While Melissa is improving, she has still not fully recovered from the coma.
Image via Wikimedia Commons