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Baby born 10 weeks early to mother with Covid now aged one and walking

A little boy who was born 10 weeks premature by his Covid-stricken mother took his first steps on his first birthday.

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Leo

Leo Wright was delivered 10 weeks early on 12 January 2021 when mum Ellie was 30 weeks pregnant and undergoing life-saving treatment after contracting Covid-19.

He was cared for in the Neonatal Unit at Walsall Manor Hospital and had to go on a ventilator for 24 hours.

Ellie, who was 20 at the time, was fighting for her life and wasn’t able to see her new baby until an incubator was brought into the Critical Care Unit in February. She was only able to reach out and touch him as she was still very weak. She finally had the strength to hold him properly for the first time in March.

Leo delighted his proud mum and family on his first birthday by walking for the first time.

Ellie, now 21, said: "He just started to take steps towards my dad on the sofa.

Ellie Wright pictured when she was able to hold her baby boy, Leo, for the first time

“We had a great day with him with all his presents. He has a Mickey Mouse train set and he loves messing with the hoover every time one of us is hoovering so we bought him a toy one."

She added: "He also loves walking round with a sock; he’s got his own funny little character now and he’s going from strength to strength considering he had to be born 10 weeks early last year."

Ellie, from Beechdale, is also continuing her own recovery and is managing to walk better now but still gets tired really easily.

She said: "Covid has completely changed my life. I made sure I had all my vaccinations as soon as I could. At the start of my pregnancy there wasn’t enough known about them but now we do know it’s safe to have them.

Ellie could not hold Leo properly for two months she was ill with Covid

"I know having vaccination is a personal choice but from my experience of having Covid I can honestly say I nearly died, the critical care staff saved me. No one wants to go through that."

Ellie’s mum Michelle Stankevitch tells everyone she meets how dangerous Covid really is.

She said: "I want people to know how serious Covid-19 still is. Ellie can’t drive, she can’t work and she can’t take up her university place because the virus has changed so much for her and she is still trying to recover.

"Our family will be eternally grateful to neonatal and critical care and the rehab team for what they’ve done for Leo and Ellie and we all owe it to the NHS to carry on taking this seriously and avoid doing anything that might put us at risk of ending up in hospital."

She added: "To do otherwise is disrespectful in my opinion."

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