Coronavirus: Mum shares heartbreaking photo of her two-month-old baby daughter hooked up to a ventilator

Shocking photos show a two-month old baby who tested positive for coronavirus hooked up to a ventilator as she struggles to breathe.

Heartbreaking photos have emerged online showing a two-month-old baby who tested positive for coronavirus hooked up to a ventilator as a way to help her breathe.

Ashley Hildebrand, from South Carolina in the United States, took to Facebook on Sunday to reveal her tiny daughter Ellie had contracted COVID-19, despite not showing any symptoms of the disease.

The result makes the baby one of the youngest confirmed cases in the US with a national tally now confirmed at 68,960, reveals Johns Hopkins University.

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Photos shared by Ellie’s mother makes news of her baby’s diagnosis all the more shocking as these show the two-month-old sedated with tubes up her nose.

“Soooo … Ellie has tested positive for COVID 19. Me and Sean have to self-quarantine for 2 weeks without her,” Ms Hildebrand wrote alongside the images.

“Please keep our family in your prayers during this difficult time,”

Two-month-old Ellie is one of the youngest people in the United States to contract coronavirus. Picture: Facebook/Ashley Hildebrand

In a follow-up post, Ms Hildebrand said her daughter hadn’t shown any known symptoms previously other than being a “little wheezy on and off for a few days”.

“She actually didn’t really have any symptoms beforehand. She was a little wheezy on and off for a few days, nothing alarming at all,” she said.

“And her lungs sounded fine Tuesday at her 2mo check up. On Friday morning she had a bottle and was doing tummy time.

“She rolled over and she seemed very constipated. Then she screamed for a few minutes and then she screamed for a few minutes and then she stopped screaming and crying and stopped breathing efficiently.

“We called 911, when the ambulance got there her oxygen was at 58. While in the hospital she actually got hypothermic and they said that small babies will sometimes get cold instead of a fever.”

Baby Ellie hadn’t displayed any known symptoms beforehand apart from wheezing. Picture: Facebook

The mum said doctors didn’t automatically assume that her child had coronavirus as her symptoms didn’t add up, however, a decision was made to test her to be on the safe side.

Ellie’s tests for RSV, the flu, MERS and SARS had all returned negative results.

“At the hospital, all the tests they were doing were coming back totally normal,” Ms Hildebrand said.

“So they just checked for covid19 just to be safe. Honestly none of the doctors or nurses thought she was gonna (sic) come back positive bc the symptoms didn’t add up.”

Ms Hildebrand also revealed, that at this stage, Ellie is being cared for in hospital and isn’t at home with her family, who are currently self-quarantining.

Baby Ellie is starting to show some small signs of improvement. Picture: Facebook/Ashley Hildebrand

A recent update from Ms Hildebrand revealed her daughter had begun to show some small signs of improvement.

“They are starting to wean her off the ventilator and it should be all the way out *hopefully in 1-2 more days,” she said.

“Then once we are confident in her breathing on her own, they will remove the NG tube and start her on bottles.

“Once she is used to taking bottles again and is eating good we will be allowed to bring her home to stay with us for the remainder of our quarantine.”

Ms Hildebrand (pictured) said her daughter could potentially be off the ventilator in a couple of days time. Picture: Facebook

News Ellie could potentially return home has struck a chord with the Facebook post swiftly gathering 18,000 reactions and 1200 shares and scores of comments.

One wrote: “That is such great news! Praying things will continue to (go) smoothly for all of you!”

While another added: “Thank you for the update! I have been thinking about Ellie non-stop. I will continue to pray for you, Sean and Ellie. My heart is breaking for ya'll right now. God bless.”

A third said: “So glad to hear that she is getting a little better! I've been thinking about y'all almost constantly. Hopefully she'll be back in your arms soon.”

To follow Ellie’s journey, please visit Ashley Hildebrand on Facebook