OKOLONA, Miss. (WTVA) - A pregnant woman from Okolona spent more than a month fighting for her life after she contracted the coronavirus in September of last year.

Mackenzie Raper was 30-weeks pregnant in late-September when she became sick.

"What they were saying was it was either a life-or-death thing; I was so bad sick. They were scared for both of us," she said.

She took a rapid test and a PCR test to determine if she had been infected.

"Rapid came back negative, but I knew I had it because I was coughing so bad."

A few days later, the PCR test returned positive.

About a week into her isolation, she went to the hospital in Tupelo and later traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, for treatment.

"They said my lungs looked like they had Christmas tree lights hanging from them; they were so bad."

She later developed pneumonia and doctors gave her high-flow oxygen.

Because she was so far along in her pregnancy, her doctors believe the virus affected her so strongly.

She gave birth to a girl at 31 weeks on Oct. 9, 2020. She weighed 4 pounds and 3 ounces.

Raper remained in the hospital until Nov. 4 when she returned home on oxygen, and she continued to experience troublesome breathing.

While in Memphis, Raper received a coronavirus plasma transfusion and believes the transfusion helped in her recovery.

She and her baby are doing well now.