On April 17th, Heather Mortel went to United Hospital in St. Paul and had their baby, Charlie. Upon checking in, Heather had a positive COVID-19 test. Heather ended up needing an emergency C-section. While recovering from giving birth, Heather's COVID symptoms worsened. Kory and Charlie had to leave the hospital and Heather was admitted into the ICU. On April 29th, her lungs had declined to the point where she needed to be placed on a ventilator. By Friday, April 30th, the ventilator was no longer enough and she needed ECMO treatment. It is a lung bypass machine and in basic terms it oxygenates her blood for her in place of her lungs so that her lungs can have a chance to heal. This treatment required her to be transported to Abbott Northwestern as that is where they had an opening for her. Not all hospitals have ECMO and the hospital support to provide this treatment. It requires 1 on 1, 24-7 specialized care.
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