I went to the ER after being sick for several days with what I thought was a stomach flu. I did not think I had Covid because I had no cough, no loss of smell and no sore throat. I thought I would just get a bag or two of IV fluids to rehydrate me from all the vomiting and other symptoms one gets from a stomach flu.

They tested me for Covid in the ER. I told the nurse I don’t have Covid and the nurse said I think you’re right, but we have to test anyway. Well, the test came back positive because apparently I was in respiratory failure even though my oxygen saturation was 91%. I did not know that until I read over my hospital notes after being discharged.

After admittance, got a CT scan to check for a pulmonary embolism and it came back negative, but I was told it showed something call ground glass.  I was put on one liter of oxygen.

Two days later on the 19th, I was told my oxygen needed to go to 2 liters and that I needed to be given Remdesivir to treat my Covid. I did not want to take Remdesivir, and asked it I could take Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin instead,  and I was told NO. The doctor said, “They are dangerous drugs and ineffective, and Remdesivir is the only effective drug for treating Covid.”  I was told that Remdesivir could cause organ failure, but I would be closely monitored. I thought being closely monitored meant that if I got worse and started showing signs of organ damage, the Remdesivir would be stopped.  That was not the case. When my care team met with me and asked if my urine was orange, I said yes and they became very quiet. I did not know at the time that was a sign of kidney failure.

As I continued to decline, the doctors were pressuring me to sign permission to go on a ventilator. When I asked what other options I had, I asked about trying Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin and again, I was told no. My only other option would be to take me to a room, remove my oxygen and give me morphine until I die. I asked if I could die at home and they said no.

It was told to me that I was septic and had also developed bacterial and viral pneumonia. So, I was fighting both kinds of pneumonia. I apparently had a pneumothorax/collapsed lung  at some point, but at this time, I do not remember if that was in this hospital or Advanced Care Hospital. I also became diabetic during this time.

This made me so sad thinking I would never see the faces of people I loved again. Never seeing my home or my pets. Thinking no one could really say good bye to me, or me to them.

Never was I washed or showered. I could not get out of bed so I had to pee on a suction stick that usually did not have the lid on tight. I would end up peeing on myself, or it would not suck up all the urine, so no matter what I did I was sitting in pee.

Eventually, I did sign the permission to be put on a ventilator,  but I told them I wasn’t going to need it as I was going to beat this. Dr. Miller just shrugged like she did not believe me.

As it looked like I would be needing to go on a ventilator the, Hydroxychloroquine that I ordered from America’s Frontline Doctors finally arrived at the pharmacy and my sister picked it up that afternoon. She hid the medication in a care package that security delivered to my floor. When a staff member brought the bag into me I took a dose right a way, then another dose just before midnight.

When the Dr. Wright came in to see me that morning, he said my oxygen needs went down 20 liters, and that it was a miracle. I did not tell him about the Hydroxychloroquine as I was afraid it would be taken from me. I continued to take one pill twice a day for 5 days at every nurse shift change, so I would not forget or lose track.

I was able to be released from St. Vincent Healthcare and go to Advanced Care Hospital on September 2nd. The ambulance that took me there drove right by my house, and it shook me thinking that I came so close to never seeing it again.  I became emotional because I still was not sure if I would be going home. I was not sure if I was going to relapse, or if I was going to get any better. I just wanted so much to be home, to see my family, to see my pets, to take care of my home and to see my friends.

While at Advanced Care Hospital, I was having breathing and lung issues again, so I took another round of Hydroxychloroquine and I was able to recover more.

Although the administration at the hospital was reluctant to let me go home after two weeks, I had gotten my oxygen needs down to the required level to go home with home healthcare nurse, physical therapy and occupational therapy.