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Despite being labeled as a "pandemic" and with projections of lasting as long as through August or September, some people still believe the coronavirus has been dramatically over-emphasized.
But one woman who was diagnosed with COVID-19 and is currently recuperating wants to world to know that testing positive from the virus is worse than it seems. Amy Driscoll, a 48-year-old woman from Summit County, Ohio, was able to return home this weekend after receiving treatment at the hospital.
When she returned to social media and saw how skeptical some of her Facebook friends were of the seriousness of COVID-19, she decided to write up a post and put a face to the pandemic.
Driscoll, who identifies as "Amy Brock" on Facebook, wrote:
"So for all the non believers and those who are not taking this seriously, if you need to KNOW someone who has been diagnosed with the [COVID-19], well if you are reading this you know me. I am Summit County case#2."
She then explained how quickly the virus progressed in her body, as well as her process of being admitted to the hospital.
"I became sick quickly Wednesday afternoon. I felt run down and feverish. By the time I got home I had a fever of 99.2. I was uncomfortable, headache, and a cough that was heavy but not producing anything."
"I fell asleep and woke at 3 am. My heart was racing. I had trouble catching my breath and my chest felt tight every time I coughed. I contacted a great nurse I know... she said go in, but call first."
"I called the ER, told them my symptoms and the had me call a closed ohio dept of health number. I was clearly in distress so my nurse called them back and said I was coming in."
"It's a good thing I did. My BP was very low and my heart rate was very high. These are not good signs on top of fever and cough. They admitted me and I was tested for every single other thing and then they ran the [COVID-19] test."
Driscoll reminded Facebook that she is now one of the faces of COVID-19, as a way of stating that there are real people out there being diagnosed.
"I am the face of this infection. It is brutal and I'm a healthy 48 year old with no underlying conditions. I'm not 100% better but I'm home resting. Please take this seriously. People you love, their lives may depend on it."
Driscoll also added to the post at a later date to defuse two of the many rumors about COVID-19:
- symptoms to the virus are a totally reliable indicator of who is infected
- each person's point of exposure to the virus is easily identifiable.
"My ex was in Germany the week before I became ill. He has no symptoms. My children have no symptoms. Per the Summit County Health Department we are all being monitored."
"My test was POSITIVE. I was in patient at Ahuja from early Thursday till today. Fluids and pain meds and fever meds were all they could give me. My highest fever was 102."
"My son did not go to school from the moment I became ill. Prior to my becoming ill... I was at work and he was at school... because we were not ill and had no reason to suspect we were exposed in any way."
"We do NOT know where the exposure came from."
You can read the full post here:
Many on Facebook were grateful for Driscoll's post, seeing it as an important reminder of social distancing and avoidance of other germ-sharing during a situation like this.
It's important to remember to avoid any unnecessary germ-sharing, like shaking hands and also washing hands after each interaction, eating, using the restroom or touching anything in public handled by others like handrails or shopping carts.
As social distancing becomes more commonly practiced, and more locations close or limit their hours, some are hopeful that the spread of the virus will soon be under control.
But that will only be true if everyone bands together and consistently practices social distancing and other forms of safe hygiene.