Premature baby fighting for his life amid the COVID-19 pandemic

SAN ANTONIO (WOAI/KABB) — The COVID-19 crisis is adding more struggles for a family with a premature baby fighting for his life.

Right now, Maximus Diaz is starting a new breathing treatment to try to help his lungs which are severely underdeveloped. He was born on June 17 after only 24 weeks and 5 days in the womb.

He’s been in the hospital for two months.

Maximus had severe uterine growth restrictions, which means, he was not getting enough nutrients or blood from the placenta.

At birth, he weighed just 15 ounces and was just 10 1/4 inches long.

Maximus has a number of medical issues, but he continues to fight every day.

The COVID crisis is adding a lot more levels of protection for Maximus and the other NICU babies.

Maximus‘s brother and sister have not been allowed to visit him in the hospital. His mother and father can only visit them one at a time.

The baby has never seen them without a face mask on, and mom’s never been able to give her baby boy a kiss.

But they are trying to find creative ways to keep the family together.

“When we do hands-on, we’ve made a habit of putting our phones on top of the incubator and recording our interactions so that the other one can see it,"said mother Jamie Diaz.

The families been staying in a hotel here downtown for two months. Their home is in a small town near Medina Lake. They have completely isolated themselves to just the hotel and this hospital because they know if any one of them test positive for COVID-19, none of them will be allowed to visit baby Maximus for two weeks.

The family started an Instagram page just to keep family members updated as to what’s happening with Maximus here at the hospital, but it’s beginning to grow and connect with other families who are going through similar issues across the world.