Fresno mother who gave birth to baby boy while in coma returns home

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno mother is now back home for the first time in 9 1/2 months. The 4 1/2-hour drive from the Bay Area is the longest trip Melissa Carleton has made in more than 9 months. But this journey is short, compared to the recovery process it took to get her home.

Carleton fell into a coma in March while pregnant with her baby boy. She was hospitalized due to a seizure caused by a benign brain tumor but carried the baby to full term. Carleton delivered West Nathaniel Lande by C-section.

"It's been a challenge. It's been a real challenge. But on top of that the emotional burden of knowing that your daughter is ill and is going to be ill for a long time, and the sadness that you have to carry around on a regular basis," said Melissa's father, John Farrell.

Saturday is the first time Carleton has seen her first born in two months. It's also the first time in two months her husband, Brian Lande, has been with the both of them. Carleton's parents took West home to Fresno in October, while Lande commuted between the Bay Area and Fresno to spend time with his wife and son.

"I'm thrilled that I don't have to have my family torn apart, you know 180 miles from one another, and that I don't have to keep making a choice between which person I care about, which person am I going to get to see," said Lande.

He said their insurance provider didn't see the progress from Carleton they were hoping, so they told her husband she had to go home and recover.

"It was sudden. It was unexpected both for the hospital and for us; we were left really scrambling to find a way to get her home safely and as quickly as possible," said Lande.

For now, Carleton is able to move her feet and is alert. But her health fluctuates very easily, so the possibility of entering a rehabilitation facility is still a long way down the road.

"The horrible and tragic nature of this. It's devastating. Yet when you get to hold a baby like West, and play with him and kiss on him, watch him laugh and smile, it's really something else," said Farrell.

Lande said the support from the community is humbling and their GoFundMe account has raised nearly $120,000 in the past 9 months.