Texas mother, 34, reunites with her three children at home for the first time in over a YEAR after spending 11 MONTHS on a ventilator battling COVID-19 - as she reveals her two-year-old son didn't even recognize her
Jazmin Kirkland, 34, from Bells, Texas, spent months in a medically induced coma and was on a ventilator for nearly a year as she fought for her life in multiple hospitals and acute care facilities.
When she arrived home after being discharged from the Texoma Medical Center in Denison on August 9, 2022, her two-year-old son didn't recognize her outside of the hospital.
'He was one when I went into the hospital and he sees the hospital as, that's mom's house,' Kirkland told Good Morning America. 'He was confused. He didn't recognize me because I wasn't in my PJs or my hospital gown.'
Kirkland told GMA that she was healthy and had no preexisting conditions when she tested positive for the virus during a family vacation in South Carolina.
Her husband, Kody Kirkland, and their two youngest children had also contracted COVID-19. They had few to no symptoms, but she was struggling to breathe.
Kirkland didn't even say goodbye to her children when she went to the emergency room in August 2021, because she though she would be given an oxygen treatment and sent home.
'I started to pray and was like, "God, please don't let me die … just let me wake up. Let me be here for my kids and my husband,'' she said. 'And I just texted my husband and I said, "I love you. I promise I'm going to keep fighting."'
Doctors at Texoma Medical Center — where she stayed during most of her hospital stay — put her on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which removes carbon dioxide from the blood and oxygenates it before sending it back to the body.
Kirkland was in a medically-induced coma until around November. She was told she wouldn't survive without a lung transplant — but she didn't qualify for one. Doctors thought her antibodies would reject it.
Kirkland's lungs began to improve on the ECMO machine, which she was finally taken off in March — eight months into her hospitalization.
Brandon Davis, the ECMO program coordinator at Texoma Medical Center, told GMA that most patients spend two to four weeks on the machine, but she was on it for 188 days.
In July, Kirkland was able to breathe on her own for the first time in nearly a year after being taken off the ventilator. As she worked to rebuild her strength, she had to relearn how to do everything from walking to eating and drinking.
She credited her husband for helping to save her life, recalling how he advocated for her and refused to give up when she was in the hospital.
Kirkland said that one nurse told her that her husband refused to sign a do not resuscitate (DNR) order for her in the midst of her COVID-19 battle.
'She told me the story about it and she said, "Your family has taught us a lot about not giving up and love and family because your family fought so hard for you and never, never gave up. Never accepted that you were going to die,"' she shared. 'I said, "That's how we are."'
- Jazmin Kirkland, from Bells, Texas, spent months in a medically induced coma and was on a ventilator for nearly a year after contracting COVID in August 2021
- She told Good Morning America that she was healthy and had no preexisting conditions when she tested positive for the virus during a family vacation
- Just days after she was admitted to the hospital with difficulty breathing, she was moved to the ICU and put on a ventilator and later an ECMO machine
- She was told she'd die without a lung transplant, but she didn't qualify for one
- However, Kirkland's lungs began to improve on the ECMO machine, and she was taken off the ventilator in July
- As she worked to rebuild her strength, she had to relearn how to do everything from walking to eating and drinking
- When Kirkland was discharged from the Texoma Medical Center on August 9, her toddler son didn't recognize her outside of the hospital
Jazmin Kirkland, 34, from Bells, Texas, spent months in a medically induced coma and was on a ventilator for nearly a year as she fought for her life in multiple hospitals and acute care facilities.
When she arrived home after being discharged from the Texoma Medical Center in Denison on August 9, 2022, her two-year-old son didn't recognize her outside of the hospital.
'He was one when I went into the hospital and he sees the hospital as, that's mom's house,' Kirkland told Good Morning America. 'He was confused. He didn't recognize me because I wasn't in my PJs or my hospital gown.'
- Jazmin Kirkland, 34, from Bells, Texas, reunited with her three children at home for the first time this month after battling COVID-19 in the hospital for more than a year
- Kirkland spent months in a medically induced coma and was on a ventilator for nearly a year after contracting COVID-19. She is pictured with her children, who are ten, seven, and two
Kirkland told GMA that she was healthy and had no preexisting conditions when she tested positive for the virus during a family vacation in South Carolina.
Her husband, Kody Kirkland, and their two youngest children had also contracted COVID-19. They had few to no symptoms, but she was struggling to breathe.
Kirkland didn't even say goodbye to her children when she went to the emergency room in August 2021, because she though she would be given an oxygen treatment and sent home.
- The mom told Good Morning America that she was healthy and had no preexisting conditions when she tested positive for the virus during a family vacation in August 2021
- Just days after she was admitted to the hospital with difficulty breathing, she was moved to the ICU and put on a ventilator
- Kirkland was also put on an ECMO machine and was in a medically-induced coma until around November. She was told she wouldn't survive without a lung transplant
'I started to pray and was like, "God, please don't let me die … just let me wake up. Let me be here for my kids and my husband,'' she said. 'And I just texted my husband and I said, "I love you. I promise I'm going to keep fighting."'
Doctors at Texoma Medical Center — where she stayed during most of her hospital stay — put her on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which removes carbon dioxide from the blood and oxygenates it before sending it back to the body.
Kirkland was in a medically-induced coma until around November. She was told she wouldn't survive without a lung transplant — but she didn't qualify for one. Doctors thought her antibodies would reject it.
- Kirkland didn't quality for a lung transport, and she was unsure if she would ever recover
- Kirkland's lungs began to improve on the ECMO machine, and she was taken off the ventilator in July. She was able to breathe on her own for the first time in nearly a year
- Most patients spend two to four weeks on an ECMO machine, but she was on it for 188 days
Kirkland's lungs began to improve on the ECMO machine, which she was finally taken off in March — eight months into her hospitalization.
Brandon Davis, the ECMO program coordinator at Texoma Medical Center, told GMA that most patients spend two to four weeks on the machine, but she was on it for 188 days.
In July, Kirkland was able to breathe on her own for the first time in nearly a year after being taken off the ventilator. As she worked to rebuild her strength, she had to relearn how to do everything from walking to eating and drinking.
- As she worked to rebuild her strength, she had to relearn how to do everything from walking to eating and drinking
- The mom's youngest child couldn't remember a time when she wasn't at the hospital, and he didn't recognize her when she came home on August 9
- Kirkland still required oxygen, physical therapy, and nursing care while she is home, but she is expected to make a full recovery
She credited her husband for helping to save her life, recalling how he advocated for her and refused to give up when she was in the hospital.
Kirkland said that one nurse told her that her husband refused to sign a do not resuscitate (DNR) order for her in the midst of her COVID-19 battle.
'She told me the story about it and she said, "Your family has taught us a lot about not giving up and love and family because your family fought so hard for you and never, never gave up. Never accepted that you were going to die,"' she shared. 'I said, "That's how we are."'
