tonight, one mother's fight to make it back from the brink. >> sarah died twice. you can't get more sick than that. >> eight months pregnant and critically ill with covid. would her baby survive? her husband chronicling their journey. >> yesterday i had to have a conversation about how long to keep her on a ventilator. >> their children by his side and praying to be a family again. >> we love you, mommy! >> this holiday season -- >> mommy! >> the greatest present ever. >> i feel like she's your christmas miracle. >> oh, gosh. absolutely. >> this special edition of "nightline," "delivering hope: cierra's story," will be right back.

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm john quijones. tonight as covid surges nationwide, we have the incredible story of one woman's courageous journey back to her family. this after being hospitalized in the icu when she was 8 months pregnant. here's "nightline" coanchor juju chang.

>> reporter: it's before dawn, and jamal chubb is already up for another busy day without the love of his life. >> hey, buddy. i'm right here, i'm right here, come on. >> reporter: nothing could prepare this navy veteran for his newest mission. that's 2-year-old langston, 7-year-old eden -- >> if he gets fussy, i'll help you, hold on. >> reporter: and newborn baby miles, who's unaware he's been born into a year of disrupted dreams. >> i've always been a dad that's been very involved. >> reporter: but suddenly he found himself on his own. as his wife, cierra, fights for her life on a ventilator after getting covid-19 while pregnant and unvaccinated. >> cierra died twice. you can't get more sick than that. >> can you wash your hands?

there's this military part of me still that's like, this is the mission, complete the mission. it is what it is. >> no complaining, soldier? >> yeah. but the other part of that is, dealing with their emotions as i'm dealing with my emotions. every time i would leave the house saying, "you're never coming back." i'm still not used to her not being in the house. i'm calling and saying, cierra, can you come help? then realize she's not coming to help. >> reporter: jamal asks for prayers from his 5,000 followers on tiktok. >> my wife has been in the hospital with covid, fighting for her life. yesterday i had to have a conversation about how long to keep her on a ventilator. >> reporter: within days, those prayers go viral, getting 1.6 million views. >> guys, i don't want anybody to experience what we are experiencing. >> reporter: jamal is now using his voice to warn other pregnant women. even with the threat of the highly contagious omicron variant, 6 out of 10 expectant

moms are still unvaccinated. >> it's very real. if you're able-bodied and able to get vaccinated, get vaccinated. >> reporter: this is 33-year-old cierra chubb before contracting covid. full of life. radiating joy. >> cover up the y, what's that word? >> reporter: even helping daughter eden with remote learning. >> yay, we got it? every day i've got to do this. >> reporter: cierra found out she was pregnant in december 2020, just as vaccines began to roll out. but she hesitated to get the shot because she was scared it might harm her baby. cierra's pregnant at this point? >> yes, right. >> to vaccine, not vaccine? what was the thinking? >> she was going to get vaccinated after she gave birth. it wasn't like, i'm not doing this, no we're not anti-vax

people. >> reporter: data shows pregnant women are far more likely to die from covid-19, but far less likely to get vaccinated. the numbers are lowest among black women. the cdc sounding the alarm, issuing an urgent advisory this fall. >> we now have data that demonstrates that vaccines in whatever time in pregnancy or lactating that they're given are actually safe and effective and have no adverse events. >> reporter: but the guidance came too late for cierra. she was already 8 months pregnant when her daughter got covid-19 after sports camp. cierra got sick. within days she was rushed to the hospital. then just two days later, their world turned upside down. >> 38 weeks pregnant. and we had to deliver early because the baby was in distress. >> reporter: on july 26th, miles alexander chubb was born. jamal bringing home a healthy 5 pound 7 ounce newborn boy --

without his mother. cierra's condition tanked. >> i get a call from the doctor. he says, hey, jamal, we may have to put your wife on a ventilator. we asked her what would you want to do if you find yourself in a vegetative state or we think you won't make it? her response was, i don't know, ask my husband. >> reporter: cierra's heart stopped not once, but twice. >> she was brought back to life. >> reporter: dr. helmud albrecht, who's treating an alarming number of pregnant women in the icu, cierra one of them. >> she was on something called ecmow for four weeks. essentially, if you cannot get air into a lung of the patient, you give it via a catheter directly into the bloodstream, the oxygen. almost like a dialysis. so you can't get much sicker than that. >> reporter: pregnant women face a higher risk of severe symptoms and hospitalization. more than 25,000 pregnant women have been hospitalized during the pandemic. >> french studies showed that

they're over 40 times as likely to die. so it's not trivial, the amount in pregnant women. that we see - >> what is it about pregnant women that leaves them vulnerable to covid? >> pregnancy is an immune deficiency. influenza is significantly more problematic in a pregnant woman than a nonpregnant woman. and covid is too. >> reporter: the prognosis for cierra, grim. >> even through the time where they said, hey, we are recommending you put her on who is businehospice, if her lungs better, this brain. ry -- it's over. >> reporter: jamal refused to accept this, driving every day for three hours to be with his wife. >> i didn't want to see her in that condition, but i know cierra doesn't want to be alone. >> reporter: jamal was holding down the fort at home and praying for a miracle. >> this is cierra's 16th day in the hospital.

she's really fighting hard, man. update on cierra. because of some complications, they have her 100% on ecmow. 100% on the ventilator. cierra's still stable, in the hospital, we're still believing in god for her to pull through. >> reporter: after 25 days in the hospital, his prayers are answered. >> one night a nurse calls me and says, hey, jamal, i'm giving you a call because cierra's awake. we put her on speaker. eden and i are talking to her. we're like sobbing, we're sobbing. >> she came back to you. >> yes. that was when i knew that the things that we had been praying for were happening. >> reporter: cierra is far from out of the woods. >> today was a good day but an exhausting day. i got to speak with cierra

face-to-face today. and she can't talk, she's got a trach in, still on ecmow and the ventilator. >> hey, mommy! >> reporter: their only connection an iphone screen. but her kids manage to lift her spirits. >> any day that she can text or facetime me, i'm very hopeful. i'm always reminded that there was a time where doctors weren't hopeful, saying that she wasn't going to make it. >> we love you, mama. >> we love you, mama. >> reporter: it's now day 83, and langston is finally getting to see his mother in person. >> mama! >> reporter: with a trach and ventilator attached, cierra is only able to mouth words.

but within a week on langston's next visit, he can hear his motor's voice. >> hey, y'all, look who's talking now. >> i have a speaking valve so you can hear my voice. >> reporter: the smallest tasks we all take for granted are major victories. how was the visit? >> very good. so she's able to eat solid foods for the first time in months. >> is that why you're smiling? >> yeah. >> this was a big day? >> huge day. also they're running trials for her. she may be coming off of this today or tomorrow. whoop-de-whoop! >> reporter: with the help of her physical therapist, she's able to take her first steps. kayla wilson is one of cierra's nurses. the occupational therapist was next to her every step of the way. >> she's doing better, she's walking, she's getting stronger. so much amazing things are happening with her.

>> what for you was the biggest first to see her break through? >> i think just seeing her be able to engage in conversation with us, feel like she's able to really participate in her own care, to hopefully get her walking out of here. >> jamal lives an hour from here, yet he's here every day. >> yes. >> just about. what does that say to you? >> oh, he's completely committed and loyal to her. he's going to fight with her every step of the way. >> oh, man, look at you, cierra. you're crushing this, i can't believe this. >> reporter: after 95 days in the hospital, cierra is one step closer to going home. she's graduating to rehab at encompass health of columbia.

♪ da da da da da da ♪ >> how was that? >> areas than last time. >> reporter: her physical therapist prepping her to get back to her family as soon as possible. >> we talked about pacing out activities, ensuring she's not overworking her system too much. watching that oxygen percentage. another part of that is making sure she's monitoring overall how she feels. when we come back, the homecoming they've all been praying for. >> mommy! >> and the harrowing road to recovery. knocking you out of your zone? lowering your a1c with once-weekly ozempic® can help you get back in it. oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! my zone... lowering my a1c, cv risk, and losing some weight... now, back to the game! ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it.

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cierra's story," continues. [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, thank you. >> reporter: after spending more than 100 days in the hospital, with weeks of grueling physicl therapy, cierra chubb is finally saying good-bye to the people who fought to give her a second chance at life. >> i know we're talking about miracles. i believe that god uses people to do miracles. these people, they are the miracle. >> reporter: and finally, that family reunion. >> we wanted to surprise the kids. i told jamal, don't make a video, i don't want anybody to know before the kids know. >> mommy! >> hi, bubba! >> mommy! >> oh, i missed you so much. >> mommy! >> i love you guys.

>> can you talk right now? >> i can talk right now. >> is it a good surprise? >> yes. >> i love you. >> it was a crying surprise but a good surprise also. >> reporter: a group hug cierra has been dreaming about for months. >> i missed you guys. >> i missed you guys. >> what was the like witnessing that for eden and handing over miles? >> mission complete. >> mission complete. >> walking them through the door, seeing them embrace cierra, it felt like something had started, and now it was done. >> reporter: for the first time the family of now five home together under one roof. >> hi, baby boy. >> reporter: and mom has some catching up to do. >> wow, look at that smile. >> i think i panicked that miles wouldn't recognize me.

that we wouldn't have that bond that i have with my other kids. which is heartbreaking. >> you didn't want to miss out on any of it? >> no already. >> need a hand? >> no, i think i got it. >> what was the incentive for you in those moments that you were being rocky? >> it was this idea that if you're not progressing forward, you're moving backwards. if i wasn't pushing a little bit harder every day, then i was going to plateau. and i was like, if i plateau, i might not get out of here. which means i won't see my husband or my parents or my kids ever again. >> that's a lot of incentive. >> yeah. >> so proud of that. >> reporter: she's already made it through the worst of the fight, but there are still obstacles ahead. tell me about what you were experiencing with your leg, what was that? >> when i was in the hospital, they had to put a line in my

leg. it swells if i'm doing too much. i feel electrical pulses, almost. >> from the nerve damage? >> yeah. >> reporter: cierra is now regaining her strength. routine moments around the house now part of her physical therapy. >> every step feels like a triumph. >> it is. >> i bet you feel stronger every day. >> reporter: even short strolls are still taxing. >> you're checking your blood oxygen level. >> yes. 92. which is good. so it did drop because i'm moving around. >> before it was 98? >> yep. >> yeah. that's what it should be? >> they stay close to 85 is really the goal. >> reporter: she's come a long way from that moment when her life hung in the balance. >> they were asking, if you code, what should we do?

that's not what they said but that's what they meant. >> words to that effect. >> i was thinking about jamal. because obviously everybody wants to get back to their family. but me being me, i don't want to be a burden. if they're going to bring me back and i'm not going to be me, like what's that going to do to him? >> don't bring me back at all costs? >> yes. let him make the decision. let him be the final word. >> she wanted you to let her go if she was going to be less than herself. >> yes. >> would you have done that? >> i would have done that if i had felt like what they were telling me was real. >> you just chose not to leave them. >> i can't describe this level of faith as anything but faith. that's the ultimate thing she was telling me to do was, hey, do what's in your heart. right? in my heart, i had to make sure that we gave her every

opportunity to pull through this thing. >> reporter: she's taking advantage of that opportunity. >> poor mr. truffles, trapped in his house -- >> reporter: savoring life's simple pleasures. ♪ you are the sun ♪ >> reporter: celebrating with more gratitude than ever. >> i feel like she's your christmas miracle. >> gosh. we use the phrase "christmas miracle" all the time. >> making jokes for literally years. >> so this year? >> it's not a joke. >> when i was in the hospital, i was so concerned, like nearing the end of my stay, if i can just make it home before langston's actual birthday, i won't ask for anything else. >> after coming through something like this, it really shapes what this family is and what we're going to be. >> literally nothing will stop us now.

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♪ finally tonight, we followed cierra and her family for months

through their struggle. we witnessed their worst days. and finally their greatest triumphs. it's a story of hope, faith, and the will to survive. a story that's inspired us. and during this very difficult time in our nation, a story that we hope has inspired you. that's "nightline." thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.