Dispatcher on life support for 17 days shares her recovery

Dakota Vest-Wright was on life support for 17 days. When she was admitted to the hospital, she was 29 weeks pregnant and had tested postive for COVID-19. Her road to recovery was a miracle.

In April, the dispatcher for the Mobile Police Department Communications Detail, was airlifted to UAB Hospital upon admission to a local hospital. The doctors at the top academic medical center were unable to put Dakota on the necessary life support due to her being pregnant. Her son was born by emergency C-section prematurely.

Immediately, Dakota was put on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which is a type of life support that bypasses the lungs and heart to oxygenate the blood. Dakota stayed on life suppport for 17 days. On the 18th day, she was taken off of ECMO and her physical and occupational therapy began. At the end of May, Dakota was released from UAB Hospital and allowed to continue her recovery from home. Dakota’s baby boy, Bruce Archer Wright who was named after her father, was later released from the NICU. Baby Bruce made it home for the first time on July 3. This was his original due date.

Dakota and Bruce, affectionately called “Bruiser”, are both doing well. Dakota has returned to work in the Communications Detail in her role as head trainer. Bruce has figured out that all he needs to do to get whatever he wants in the world is to scream. The doctors were concerned about his lungs. His parents are quite sure that they are doing just fine.

Dakota, her husband Justin, firstborn Stevie, and Baby Bruce are and will forever be grateful for all of the suppport received from the MPD family while she was ill. Dakota says the love and care that was extended in their time of need made all the difference in the world.