A Missouri teenager has set the internet on fire by tweeting a photo of herself finish a college final on a laptop in a birthing room bed.
Nayzia Thomas is a sophomore at Johnson County Community College in Kansas City. She is aiming for a degree in psychology while working three jobs and decided that a pregnancy won’t slow her down.
Thomas planned to wrap up the semester and give birth shortly after her finals but went into labor early when she was 39 weeks pregnant. So she went into the hospital with a laptop and textbook in tow.
“It wasn’t due until the end of the week — finals week is Dec. 11 to tomorrow — but my goal was to try to have everything done before,” Thomas told Yahoo Lifestyle. “I thought before all this gets crazy let me hurry up and finish this final.”
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
While in labor, Thomas completed her final on dissociative identity disorder. She gave birth to her son on Dec. 12. Thomas had major blood loss after giving birth but her boyfriend was there for her and the newborn baby when she lost consciousness.
“It was very scary, but his father was right there to take over when I went unconscious,” Thomas wrote in a tweet. “We are blessed! AND I’m finishing the semester w/ a 3.5 GPA!”
Thomas told Yahoo that her mom snapped the picture because it defines who she is.
“School is so important to me,” she said. “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.”
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
The young mom didn’t expect for her photo to go viral, but it was liked by almost 130,000 people and retweeted by 27,000 people in four days.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 47 percent of black women are raising children while in school, making Thomas’s photo hit close to home for many moms and moms-to-be.
Thomas had to get a blood transfusion due to loss of blood and went home on Friday.
“Thanks to everyone again for the positivity and love,” she wrote on Twitter. “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!”
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
Thomas plans to take a month off from work during the winter break and go back to school for next semester. The mom didn’t dial back her classwork and plans to take 15 credits.
“My mom was a single mom,” she said. “We’re all three in school and getting our degrees.”
