‘Bringing Up Bates’ Star Carlin and Husband Evan Stewart Reveal COVID-19 Diagnosis
Get well soon. Bringing Up Bates star Carlin Bates and husband Evan Stewart revealed they both have been recently diagnosed with COVID-19, and they shared an update with fans on their recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I have gotten some messages from some of you checking on us, because I have been a little MIA with our Insta fam. Thank you for thinking of us. Evan and I both came down with COVID, so we have been a little out of it,” Carlin, 22, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, August 16. “We are on the tail end of recovery and are both doing better. We feel for you that are struggling with COVID right now and we are keeping you in our prayers. Y’all please stay safe out there! Xoxo.”
Carlin’s best friend and Counting On star Joy-Anna Forsyth (née Duggar) was one of her first followers to share well wishes. “Praying for you guys!!! Looovvveee [sic] you!” Joy-Anna, 22, wrote in the comments.
Many fans also expressed concern for the couple’s 6-month-old daughter, Layla. The UPtv star has been very open about her baby girl’s struggle with breathing issues, and naturally, fans were worried that Layla could have been exposed to COVID-19 — which affects the respiratory system.
“Since Layla was born, she has had breathing problems and episodes of turning blue where she can’t catch her breath. When this first started happening, we thought, ‘Well maybe it’s because she was premature so that’s what’s causing her to struggle more,’” Carlin wrote in May when revealing her daughter’s health struggles.
She explained that Layla was hospitalized after one scary episode of “rapid breathing” and “turning blue.” Doctors ran tests, and they learned Layla’s electrocardiographic (EKG) levels weren’t “reading right,” so the first-time parents followed up with an appointment to see a heart specialist. That’s when they learned Laylas “has a small hole in her heart,” and doctors believed it was causing some of her breathing issues.
But weeks later, Layla had another incident where her O2 levels dropped. When they followed up with their pediatrician, the doctor determined an “acid reflux episode” may have caused the O2 drop and placed Layla on medication.
Thankfully, it seems Layla’s condition has become manageable in recent months. “She still has little breathing episodes that we have to monitor because of the hole in her heart, but the doctors have told us that this will most likely heal itself,” Carlin told a follower in a June update.
Wishing Layla’s parents a speedy recovery!
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