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Columbus father tests positive for coronavirus days before wife gives birth

Inside the delivery room a second nurse held Ashley Eckel’s cell phone so her husband Vince could Facetime throughout the nearly three-hour delivery.
Credit: Eckel Family

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As families across the nation continue to redefine what major life milestone moments look like due to COVID-19, one local family says they have lived through a moment that is ingrained on their hearts. A Columbus dad tested positive for COVID-19 three days before his wife was due to give birth.

“I had to hear it a second time. I could not believe it,” said Columbus mom Ashley Eckel. Her husband, Vince Eckel, went straight into quarantine.

“It meant she had to take care of our son and daughter by herself, go to the hospital herself, give birth and cut the umbilical cord without me,” said Vince Eckel. “When the doctor told me the news, that I was COVID-positive, my heart dropped. It was one of the hardest things I had to hear." 

Inside the delivery room a second nurse held Ashley’s cell phone so Vince could Facetime throughout the nearly three-hour delivery. Newborn baby Camila was born in good health, with no symptoms of coronavirus.

"I did what I had to do for our family. It was hard and emotional. The choices we needed to make we had to make quickly. I do not feel any stronger. I just had to do what was best for all of us," said Ashley.

Now home from the hospital, she said her 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter are starting to become accustomed to wearing face masks around their own home. None of the children have shown symptoms of coronavirus and Ashley has tested negative.

“I am getting better but I do have a lingering, intermittent cough," said Vince of his coronavirus recovery. “From the day I first started showing symptoms and feeling like I got hit by a freight train to now, it's night and day. Things are improving but I still don’t know when I will get to hold Camila."

“There have been so many helpers,” said Ashley Eckel. “I was very grateful everyone at the hospital was able to help and make him{Vince} be a part of the delivery the best way we could. Thank God for Facetime and technology." 

“I’m impressed by how many friends and family reach out with messages, meals and my mom is risking a lot. She's basically risking her health to be here with the kids and me, despite our exposure quarantine time still in effect and Vince's time of possibly exposing others is not up.”

The family and Vince will continue living in separate homes until doctors clear him to step out of quarantine. The Eckel family has introduced several extra PPE measures within their own home. They do not know when the family will reunite, but continue to check baby Camila for any symptoms.

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