20-Hour Labor Can’t Stop Mom From Finishing Psych Exam

Rachel Bertsche
·Writer
image

One 21-year-old college student wasn’t going to let anything stop her from finishing an online exam — not even going into labor. A photo of the new mom taking her test from her hospital bed has gone viral.

Tommitrise Collins’s water broke on Nov. 12, the same day she was scheduled to take a two-hour psychology test for a class at Middle Georgia State University. Her sister, Shanell Brinkley-Chapman, posted a photo of Collins in her hospital gown, hooked up to monitors with eyes glued to the computer, on Facebook. “This is what you call ‘Strong Priorities.’ Contractions 3 minutes apart and still takes her Psychology Test! You are going to be a great Mom baby sis,” Brinkley-Chapman, who added that she was “feeling proud” of her sister, wrote in the caption of the photo taken at Coliseum Medical Center in Atlanta. The post has been shared nearly 15,000 times.

STORY: Mom in Labor Pulls Off Dance Moves as Husband Cheers Her On

Despite a grueling 20-hour labor, Collins finished her exam in 90 minutes, she told Fox 5 Atlanta. “It took me 4-5 hours after the opening of the test to try to put the pain to the side and do it so I wouldn’t have to do it later and I could enjoy my newborn,“ she told the news station. And despite some major distractions every three minutes, Collins told Fox 5 that she passed the exam — though she opted to retake the test to improve her score, earning a B for her final grade.

image

Tommitrise Collins with her newborn daughter, Tyler Elise. (Photo: Facebook/Shanell Brinkley-Chapman)

Today, Collins is not just a determined student, but a determined mom. She welcomed a little girl, Tyler Elise, weighing 7 pounds and 10 ounces, Thursday evening. She told Fox 5 that she’s loved every minute of new motherhood.

STORY: Reporter Goes Into Labor Minutes After Signing Off Live TV

As if conquering her psych text weren’t accomplishment enough, Collins, who has an impressive 3.6 GPA, says she has no intention of letting her grades slip after having a child. “[My daughter] is my life now, and the way I look at it is, she will always have me to depend on, so my goals will not be put on hold,” Collins told Fox 5. She expects to graduate in December 2016, with a degree in criminal justice. “I don’t want to just barely make it by, I want my child to live comfortably, and I want to show people that just because I am considered a young mother doesn’t mean I have to be considered a bad mother.”

(Top photo: Facebook/Shanell Brinkley-Chapman)


Please follow @YahooParenting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Have an interesting story to share about your family? Email us at YParenting (at) Yahoo.com.