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A New Jersey mother died of COVID-19 just weeks after giving birth to her fourth child — whom she never got a chance to hold.
Michelle Stani, 37, of Bridgewater, died from the virus on Jan. 12 at a hospital in New Brunswick. Just three weeks earlier, the mom gave birth to her fourth child, a son named Jayden, but never got the opportunity to touch him, her aunt Tina Stani told The Post Thursday.
“Her partner had taken a picture of the baby and showed it to her, but that’s all she got,” an emotional Tina Stani said. “It tore her up. She literally texted me that she was heartbroken, that she wished she could hold her baby. That’s all she wanted.”
But Stani, who graduated in October from Rutgers University with a Master’s degree in education, never got to fulfill that wish. She died at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital without physically connecting with Jayden, who was born on Dec. 23, Tina Stani said.
Stani died of COVID-19 complications linked to pneumonia. It’s unclear if the mother of four was vaccinated, her aunt said.
“I don’t know, she was pregnant for almost two years,” Tina Stani said, referring to Michelle’s third child, Jordan, an 11-month-old girl. “I would love to say one way or the other, but I don’t know.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in August
that COVID-19 vaccines were safe and effective for pregnant people.
Michelle got sick in December and the virus “hit her hard very fast,” her aunt said. Her funeral was held Wednesday in Somerset, where Stani’s 19-year-old daughter, Samantha Jones-Stani, spoke along with Michelle’s older brother, Sean.
“I don’t think reality has set in for her yet,” Tina Stani said of Samantha. “They were very, very close. Samantha said yesterday that her mother was not just her mother, but so much more.”
Stani’s family is now raising money to offset her “significant” medical bills and set up an education fund for her four children.
“She was an advocate for education,” Tina Stani said. “I believe she would want nothing more than her children to have a college education.”
Some of the donated funds — which had eclipsed $36,000 as of Thursday — will be designated for education costs, Tina Stani said.
“The incredible outpouring of love shows how many people she impacted,” Tina Stani said. “She was special. We know she’s in heaven. We’re going to grieve and help this family — how could you not?”
Stani, who grew up in Somerset, is survived by her parents, John and Susan Stani, partner Frank Allen, two brothers and her four children, including 4-year-old Noah, according to her obituary.
The hard-working mom loved music, especially Dave Matthews Band, and was “vivacious and strong-willed and determined and disciplined,” her aunt said.
“The fact that she was pregnant, had a rambunctious 4-year-old at home and still got her master’s degree, I would think you would be in awe of her,” her aunt said. “She did it all and worked full-time.”
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Michelle’s eldest child, meanwhile, posted a heartbreaking tribute to her mother last week, saying she was her soulmate.
“You have impacted so many people, you are an inspiration,” Samantha Jones-Stani wrote on Facebook. “Noah, Jordan, Jayden, and I will always live through you and make you proud … I love you so much my mommy please watch over me.”
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