Friends and family are grieving the loss of a 31-year-old mother and one of her newborn twins.
Stephanie Baker had a 4-year-old son, Julian, and was pregnant with twins, and if you knew her, she made sure to tell you about the twins she would soon be delivering.
“It was just day by day, it all went by so fast,” Stephanie’s mom Debbie said.
Doctors were concerned about her lack of oxygen, so Stephanie delivered the twins, Sage and Sylas, on January 27th after ongoing complications.
Stephanie continued to fight after delivering the babies, and her parents held out hope that she would get stronger in the coming days as doctors could focus on her and the babies separately.
“We just held on to every little hope because you never give up hope, that’s something that it’s just in you, you just never give up hope,” Stephanie’s mom said.
Unfortunately, Sylas passed away the next day. “They had to resuscitate him. They did everything they could, and she got to hold him for a short time before she passed away, but there was just a little brain activity because he had been without oxygen for so long,” Debbie said.
Two days later, on January 30th, Stephanie’s body was too weak to carry on. Now, her parents are devastated by how quickly life can change.
“When she called me, we were at home and she said they wanted to intubate her and she was afraid she would never wake up. I told her ‘no, it’s OK, you’re OK baby girl, you’re gonna be OK,’ because I just knew, I thought she was going to be OK and that was the hardest part,” Debbie said.
Stephanie’s parents said that she lived a healthy life, and was scared to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“She was afraid the vaccine might harm her or affect the babies, so I will never fault her for it because she cared about herself and the babies and wanted to take care of herself,” Debbie said. Now Debbie wants others to know the importance of getting vaccinated.
“This is what COVID does. If it finds any weakness in your body, which she was trying to create two little lives, it was just too much for her, her system was already run down and
with COVID if it knows you’re weak it’s going to take over. So, I urge all pregnant women to get vaccinated, please get vaccinated because it possibly could save your life, maybe you wouldn’t be as sick and you would recover, hopefully, because it is devastating,” Debbie said.
“I’ve read the news and I hear it on TV about how serious COVID is with pregnant women, and it could be fatal. I always thought ‘oh, I hope Stephanie is going to be OK.’ It was always one of my worst fears, you know as a mom you just kind of wear your heart on your sleeve and you just have a fear that I don’t want anything to happen and I just pray and pray that she would stay healthy through the whole pregnancy and then your worst fear comes true, and I thought, you know, it’s real, everything you read, it’s not something to take lightly.”
Stephanie worked at the Brunswick Animal Hospital for years, where furry patients and their owners loved her. Co-workers started a Go Fund Me to support Stephanie’s 4-year-old son Julian and newborn son, Sage, who is still in the NICU.
Through donations and comments from friends, family, and even strangers, Stephanie’s dad, Mike, says it’s evident that she touched the lives of more people than they knew.
“It comforts you to help you get through such a tragic devastation, losing someone very close to your heart and I’m so thankful for our community, for Stephanie’s work family. We just appreciate them more than they will ever know,” Debbie said. ”Also, New Hanover [Regional Medical Center] for everything they did. Amazing people, very heartfelt, compassionate, they were just amazing people, the doctors, the nurses, all of them,” Mike said.
Debbie says she doesn’t want any other families to experience this, because of the devastation and heartbreak that loved ones go through.
“Even though we know she’s no longer in pain, and in a better place, we can’t help but miss her and we will carry on with all the love that I know she would, and live life to its fullest like she would,” Debbie said. “You can’t change things, so you have to move forward, so now, hopefully, we can impact lives in a positive way.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay for the funeral for Stephanie Baker and Sylas Jabari and can be found here.
