Too many milestones have passed under a cloud of tragedy.
For the past month, Autumn Carver has struggled to stay alive after COVID-19 ravaged her body. She was placed on a ventilator and then a lung-heart machine.
Carver was seven months pregnant at the time of her diagnosis in August, and needed emergency Caesarean section surgery to deliver her son, Huxley. She’s still never held him, or even seen him in person. Every day, her husband, Zach Carver, aches for her to experience all of the tiny moments that come with a newborn baby.
“It’s been the longest month of my life,” he said.
Autumn Carver continues to cling to life in a hospital as her family rallies around her. The 34-year-old southside Indianapolis resident has been able to open her eyes for moments throughout the day, though she is still sedated.
The virus has destroyed her lungs, likely requiring a lung transplant, though her body needs to heal before doctors can determine next steps.
Though it has been the most devastating month of their life, the Carvers remain hopeful for recovery. Joining them along this painful journey has been a community that has prayed for them, supported them monetarily and rallied with them every step of the way.
“Everybody has been so supportive — both of our workplaces have been supporting us, close friends and family. Even strangers have helped,” Zach Carver said. “The more support we can get for Autumn, the better.”
From diagnosis to delivery
Throughout the summer, excitement had been building for the Carver family.
Autumn and Zach Carver had been expecting their third child, due in October. Their older children, Harlow, 5, and Sadie, 3, were anxiously anticipating the birth of their new sibling.
Then, in mid-August, everything changed. Both Autumn and Zach Carver were diagnosed with COVID-19 after they developed symptoms. Due to three miscarriages the couple had suffered prior to becoming pregnant this year, Autumn Carver had not received the COVID vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just released data affirming the safety of the vaccine for pregnant women on Aug. 11.
Zach Carver had a high fever but recovered from the disease after a few days, but Autumn Carver’s condition deteriorated. As she struggled to breathe more and more, she was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 25, and placed on a ventilator to help her breathe.
Concerned for the safety of her unborn child, doctors scheduled an emergency C-section on Aug. 27.
Though he was delivered early, Huxley was healthy and thriving, Zach Carver said.
“He’s doing really well. He was supposed to be in the hospital for months, and he went home after 10 days, so that’s a blessing,” he said.
Small signs of progress
A month later, Autumn Carver continues to struggle.
Immediately after surgery, she was treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. Blood is pumped outside the body to a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-filled, rewarmed blood back to tissues in the body. The method allows the blood to “bypass” the heart and lungs so the organs can rest and heal.
In the days that followed, Autumn Carver’s condition fluxed. Her oxygen flow and breathing were better on some days, then her health would take a step back. Doctors had to sedate her so her body wouldn’t fight the ECMO machine. She developed pneumonia and pulmonary edema — excess fluid in the lungs.
But throughout September, she has showed small signs of progress. Slowly, the Methodist Health medical team would take her off paralytic medication, and as the drugs left her body, she’d respond — squeezing the nurse’s finger, wiggling her toes, furrowing her brows.
Even as doctors told Zach Carver there was not much else they could do, he kept hope. Discussing options, he inquired about a lung transplant. He was told that his wife likely wouldn’t qualify for one at this time, as her body was too weak and her condition was to precarious. Still, he spent hours and hours calling hospitals, transplant centers and other medical professionals, searching for a solution.
“We’re asking for prayers for her. We just want her lungs to heal,” he said.
Praying for a miracle
At the same time, supporters from all over offered suggestions and contacts of transplant options.
A GoFundMe account was set up, and people helped raise more than $37,000 as of Tuesday. A local company, ScreenBroidery, offered an Autumn Strong t-shirt fundraiser that is ongoing through Oct. 8, with all proceeds going to the family.
A prayer vigil outside of Methodist Hospital on Sunday drew supporters from all over.
“We can’t thank everyone enough for what they’ve done,” Zach Carver said. “They’ve given a lot to us … a lot of hope.”
On Monday, it had been one month since Autumn Carver was placed on the ECMO machine. A CT scan indicated that her lungs looked better than they had in mid-September, a fact that, once again, gave Zach Carver and everyone praying for them hope.
They know she is going to keep fighting to heal and recover. And soon, she’s going to leave that hospital and see her newborn son for the first time, Zach Carver said.
“I know she wants to beat this and come home to her daughters and new son. But overall, this is in the Lord’s hands,” Zach Carver wrote in a Facebook post. “Miracles do happen everyday, and if anyone deserves a miracle right now, it’s Autumn.”
HOW TO HELP
As Autumn Carver struggles to recover from COVID-19, supporters have put together fundraisers to support the family:
- Donations can be made to a GoFundMe page, gofundme.com/f/dfyg5-caring-for-the-carvers. All proceeds go to help with medical costs and to support Carver’s three children, Harlow, 5; Sadie, 3; and newborn Huxley.
- An Autumn Strong t-shirt fundraiser is ongoing through Oct. 8. T-shirts can be purchased at inkthecause.com/collections/autumn-strong
To keep up with additional fundraisers and Carver’s condition, go to facebook.com/healingforautumn
