Oct 2, 2008 10:26 pm US/Central
Baby Born Minutes After Crash Getting Better
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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At 6-weeks-old Angel Baer has had more milestones than most. She's doubled her weight, been taken off a respirator and the miracle she's here at all.
CBS
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Jamie Baer, 22, of Crystal, Minn. died Monday several weeks after the Ford Mustang her friend was driving rolled on Interstate 94 east of Highway 101.
CBS
A baby born minutes after the car crash that killed her mother is getting better. Angel Baer was born at 25 weeks after her mother, 22-year-old Jamie Baer, was in a car crash on Interstate 94 in Rogers. Jamie Baer died from her injuries three weeks later.
At 6-weeks-old Angel has had more milestones than most. She's doubled her weight, been taken off a respirator and the miracle she's here at all.
Dr. Richard Lussky at Hennepin County Medical Center said Angel was about as sick as a baby could be when she was born.
"That was her initial challenge in the delivery room just to literally keep her alive and stabilize her," Lussky said.
It was Aug. 22 when Jamie was out with two friends. She was buckled in the back seat. Police say the driver made a choice to drink and then drive more than 100 miles an hour before the Ford Mustang plowed into an interstate ditch. Angel was delivered at 25 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 12 ounces and in cardiac arrest.
"Not only was it everybody working together but I'm a firm believer that someone was watching over Angel," Lussky said.
A proud grandma, Kari Palashewski is still grieving.
"She's cried a couple times for us now. It makes us cry," Palashewski said.
Angel's surrounded by pictures of the mother she'll never meet.
Doctors say she's a strong baby that's shown amazing progress. She's expected to go home when she was supposed to be born in December.
Mary Ann Heinicke is a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center. She's been working with Angel since she was born.
"It's wonderful to watch these little guys start out so small, immature and premature, and grow into these chubby, fat babies," Heinicke said.
No one can say for sure what's ahead for Angel but for her family, her life has brought them a new love in a time of great loss.
Jamie Baer did not have health insurance, so Angel doesn't either. The family's been told Angel's medical bills will be in the millions. Money can be donated to Jamie Baer Trust Benefit Account at any Wells Fargo bank.
A benefit for Angel is also planned for Dec. 6 at St. Thomas The Apostle Catholic Church in Corcoran.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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