Manchester – Takea Harris was so ready for motherhood and the next chapter of her life. At 28, she was newly single and preparing to raise her newborn son, Zion, with the help of her family.

Harris

Now her family will be going it alone.

Harris, 28, died Thursday. The following day her mother went to the hospital to pick up baby Zion, who was born prematurely and had spent the first three weeks of life in the hospital's care.

Shortly after being released from the hospital after his birth, Harris developed an infection in the area of her C-section incision, said her friend, Hope Rivera. She died a few weeks after giving birth.

"Takea got to see her little boy in the hospital a few times, but then she had to go back into the hospital herself," Rivera said. "She got a nasty staph infection and then developed a blood clot that traveled to her heart. We still can't believe she's gone."

Rivera is one of a close circle of girlfriends who have known Harris for years.

"She was so ecstatic about the baby. She felt so blessed to have a beautiful son," Rivera said.

"At this point, her family can't afford to bury her. So all of her friends have been doing whatever we can -- selling jewelry, having yard sales. Yesterday, I finally decided to set up a fund for her at the bank."

She said because Harris' family has not been able to make final arrangements for her, they have hesitated to place a death notice in the newspaper.

"How sad is that? They couldn't even let people know she died because they couldn't say when they would be burying her," Rivera said.

Rivera said Harris and her family, which includes two younger brothers, moved to Manchester from Boston years ago. Harris was a 1999 graduate of Memorial High School.

"This isn't the way it was supposed to be. It's sad enough that Zion will never know his mother. As her friends, we just felt like someone needed to do something to help Takea's family," Rivera said.

Donations can be made to the Takea Harris Fund, at TD Banknorth, 141 S. River Road, Bedford 03110.