Oklahoma family of 3, including toddler and pregnant mother, battling COVID-19

EL RENO, Okla. (KFOR) – A young Oklahoma family, including a 1-year-old and her pregnant mother, is struggling to recover from COVID-19.

“It’s a trip,” said Vanessa Geheb. “This has been a trip. Every cell in my body hurts.”

Geheb is 10 weeks pregnant. She, her husband and their 22-month-old daughter have no underlying conditions, but that didn’t stop them from contracting COVID-19.

“Everlee will just scream out in pain and then pull at her head or pull at her tummy,” Geheb said. “Then every once in a while, she’ll go, ‘Brrrmmm, brrrrmmm, told, told’ and I think she’s getting those weird body chills.”

The Gehebs started to feel ill more than a week ago, first brushing it off as Oklahoma allergies. They decided to get tested after their little girl fell very ill.

They found out over the weekend that they were all positive for the virus. 

Geheb’s symptoms have become so severe that she’s concerned she’s not healthy enough to carry her unborn child.

“I can’t keep anything down,” she said. “I try to take vitamins, they come right back up. The only thing I can do is eat ice and popsicles at this point.”

Vanessa, a salon owner, has reached out to her clients about her positive test, adding that a strict safety protocol was followed at her business even after restrictions were lifted.

She does admit, though, to getting lax during her time away from work.

“I wish I could go back — and this makes me emotional, I don’t know why — but I wish I could go back and wear a mask every single second of every single day,” Geheb said. 

As her daughter recovers, Geheb is still battling the virus and urging others to take precautions.

“I would not want to risk infecting another pregnant person with this anxiety of what could happen to your baby or even infecting another child,” she said. 

Geheb says her husband is feeling better but still dealing with bouts of exhaustion.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a recent study suggests pregnant women are more likely to be hospitalized and are at more risk for being admitted to the ICU.