A new father whose wife died of COVID-19, leaving behind their newborn baby who she never met, has been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers - thanks to a baby registry set up by their nurse.
Eric Robison's wife Emily, 22, died on September 20.
She was unvaccinated, fearing that the vaccine could affect their unborn child, and had battled COVID-19 for over a month.
Eric also contracted COVID but, unlike his wife, quickly recovered.
Their daughter, Carmen, was born by emergency caesarian on August 25, two months premature and weighing two pounds, nine ounces.
Eric Robison is pictured with his wife Emily, who died on September 20 aged 22. Their daughter, Carmen, was born by emergency caesarean on August 25 but by that point Emily was unconscious and never recovered
Ashlee Schwartz, an ICU nurse, said that seeing Robison's predicament broke her heart
Ashlee Schwartz, an ICU nurse at Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith, Arkansas, said she was heartbroken to see Eric in the hospital, with his wife intubated, fighting for her life, and a newborn baby.
'The image will forever be inscribed in my head,' she told CNN.
'He was just staring in a daze. It literally broke my heart to pieces.
Ashlee Schwartz is pictured with her own family
'Especially as an ICU nurse, the reality of life with this virus is any patient's story could very well be our own story someday and I just thought to myself 'What if this was me sitting in this chair staring into my husband's room?''
Schwartz said she wanted to help the devastated new father.
'I called Eric and asked if he and Emily had a baby registry and he didn't know what a registry was,' she said.
'He said all they had for Carmen were clothes. As Emily was fighting for her life, I just felt called and a sense of responsibility to make sure this baby had everything she needed.
'All I could picture was Emily coming home after being in the hospital for months and not having much of anything for Carmen and asking herself 'Why did someone not help me?''
Schwartz took it upon herself to draw up a gift registry, with links for baby essentials at Amazon and Target.
She posted the links on her Facebook page, and also set up a GoFundMe site.
'Never would I have imagined that gifts would start pouring in from all over Arkansas and the rest of the country,' Robison said.
'It's bittersweet, because I wish Emily was still alive to see it. But not having to worry about Carmen being taken care of is one less thing I have to worry about right now.'
The GoFundMe has so far raised $17,500, and over 200 people contributed in gifts, buying items ranging from diapers, rompers and bibs to books, a car seat and crib.
