A Missouri college student wanted to start off motherhood on the right track, and that meant nothing would stop her from finishing her college exams, even though she was lying in a hospital bed about to give birth.
Nayzia Thomas, a sophomore at Johnson County Community College in Kansas City, had one overarching goal for the semester: complete her final exams before her son came into the world, Yahoo Lifestyle reported.
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To reach her lofty goal, Thomas stayed in school until she was 39 weeks pregnant. But, as it often does, her labor came earlier than expected.
But instead of putting off her exam for something more important, which would garner her an incomplete for the class, the psychology major decided to finish it from her hospital bed.
“[I thought] ‘before all this gets crazy let me hurry up and finish this final,” even though it wasn’t due for another couple of days, Thomas said.
Before the birth, Thomas’ mother took a photo of her lying in bed sporting a hospital gown, her computer on her lap and a large textbook sprawled out over a tiny side table next to her.
my mom took this pic & it's the perfect explanation of my life. yes i'm about to have a baby, but final SZN ain't over yet ?? pic.twitter.com/7LyrDBE9iN
— nayzia' (@naydxll) December 12, 2017
Thomas described the photo as the “perfect explanation” of her life.
“[Yes, I’m] about to have a baby, but final SZN ain’t over yet,” she wrote on Twitter.
As of Tuesday morning, the post had garnered more than 133,000 likes and more than 28,000 retweets.
Thomas said her mother snapped the photo because it is symbolic of who she is and how important receiving an education is to her. When she found out she was pregnant, she was working three jobs while attending summer classes. “I didn’t want [the pregnancy] to be in the way. That’s what people expect. You’re a teen mom, you’re a young mother. That’s why my mom took that picture. It shows [I] follow through.”
After completing the final, which was on dissociative identity disorder, she gave birth to her son, Anthony Johnson, on Dec. 12 at 1:30 p.m. The birth presented some complications, but mother and son were doing well soon after.
Sure enough, Thomas’ mother was there to take another photo after Anthony’s birth, this time featuring the mini family of three.
update: on 12/12/17 we had a healthy baby boy. However, I experienced major blood loss & my body went into shock post-delivery. It was very scary, but his father was right there to take over when I went unconscious. We are blessed! AND I'm finishing the semester w/ a 3.5 GPA!?? pic.twitter.com/CLFGjf3hLD
— nayzia' (@naydxll) December 14, 2017
“We are blessed!” Thomas wrote in a Twitter post on Thursday. The next day, she and Anthony were able to go home.
Last update: got a blood transfusion b/c of all the blood loss & we finally headed home today! Thanks to everyone again for the positivity and love. Its been hard trying to cope with being so close to death, but I can't thank God enough for being able to share my story!! ??? pic.twitter.com/OS3ltMocHT
— nayzia' (@naydxll) December 16, 2017
Not only did she complete her class, but Thomas finished the semester with a 3.5 GPA.
“…I can’t thank God enough for being able to share my story!!” she wrote.
(H/T: Yahoo Lifestyle)