A D.C. woman who was pregnant with her third child was hospitalized due to COVID-19 just days after her baby shower.
Relatives were worried, but they had no idea Shanetta Wilson and her son, a baby named Charles, would be gone in a matter of weeks.
Wilson was excited about becoming a mom again. Six months into her pregnancy, family and close friends threw her a baby shower.
“She was just so excited. She was so grateful for the gifts and everything on that day. I just remember her being so happy to be surrounded by family after being isolated and everything with Covid,” her niece, Charlene Wilson, said.
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Just days after that happy moment, she developed a cough and ended up in the hospital.
“Like a day or two later I called to check up to see like, ‘Hey what’s going on?’ and it’s like, ‘Oh, she has Covid, and she’s in a coma,’” Wilson's other niece, Gwen Wilson, said.
Charles was delivered in an emergency C-section. He lived for about a week but did not survive.
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The virus hit his mother hard, taking her down quickly. Wilson died weeks later on June 1.
Her family now prepares for her funeral and burial. They’ve set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money, but have fallen far short of what’s needed.
“We’ve only got like three days left to raise this money for my aunt,” Gwen Wilson said.
Wilson, who worked as a nursing assistant, leaves behind a husband and two children ages 3 and 15.
Family members thought Wilson would beat COVID-19. They said she was a fighter, and her death is a reminder that the pandemic is not over.
Her family is trying to stay positive by reflecting on the joy she brought to everyone around her. They also encourage people with underlying health conditions to get vaccinated.
“Everyone needs to stay safe,” Gwen Wilson said. “Keep our family in prayer.”
