A Missouri prosecutor lost her battle with COVID-19 just four days after giving birth, according to reporter.
JoEllen Engelbart, a 32-year-old assistant prosecutor for Jackson County, had been fighting the virus for two weeks before she died from complications on Saturday, news station KMBC reported.
Engelbart had given birth during her battle to a boy named Ross, whom she delivered three months prematurely on Dec. 29, the outlet reported.
A colleague said she doesn’t believe the new mom ever got to hold her son, news station KLAS reported.
“I’m so grateful that Ross is here and I know the rest of the family is as well, but it’s heartbreaking that she’s not here physically to be there for him,” Kelly Collins told KMBC.
Colleagues said that Engelbart — who dedicated her career to fighting on behalf of children in the Special Victims Unit — had been excited to become a mother.
“I know one of the greatest losses of all of this is the loss of seeing Jo be a mom. She would’ve been a great one,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker told KMBC.
Engelbart’s family said the newborn is currently in the neonatal intensive care unit, but the baby boy is doing well, the outlet reported.
She is also survived by her husband, Matt.
A GoFundMe page created to cover Engelbart and her son’s hospitalization bills has raised more than $98,000 as of Monday afternoon.
“She gave her all during her fight and because of her efforts JoEllen and Matt’s son, Ross Matthew, made his grand entrance into the world 3 months early,” the page said.
