Angela White has a message for everyone – COVID-19 is no hoax – it is a serious and life threatening virus.
White and her fiancé Jerry Rice-wyse know this first-hand after he landed in hospital with COVID-19.
For days he was in serious condition and it was touch and go whether or not he would survive. Fortunately he recovered enough to be discharged from hospital and continue his recovery from home.
White posted a video to her own Facebook page pleading for people to take COVID-19 seriously. She first only shared the video with her family and friends, but was then encouraged to share it widely with the public. Since then it has received more than 13,000 views.
“On April 2 he came home from work feeling a little under the weather. During the night he woke up and had a full-blown sore throat, it seemed like it was just a common cold,” White recalled. “After a few days he seemed to be getting better and then by the Monday, April 6, it took hold. By Tuesday things were a lot worse in his pain, breathing, just everything.”
By that night he was in hospital after White called 8-1-1 to start the diagnosis for COVID-19 symptoms.
“At the end of the conversation she called 9-1-1 and the paramedics got here pretty quick,” White recalled. “He had told me that he lost two days. He couldn’t remember them. He couldn’t describe the pain that he was feeling. He has chronic pain as he is a heavy machine operator, but he said this pain was beyond anything he could imagine.”
White said he spent five days in hospital.
“He told me this virus transforms, changes and adapts. All food, water, even his pills were all going through him,” she said. “It took them two days to determine he needed an IV and that’s when things started to get a bit better. Thank God he is feeling a bit better.”
She said she hopes that her Facebook video helps bring more clarity to this important health crisis.
“I don’t think some people understand how devastating to not just the person going through this but for you as a caregiving seeing what they are going through,” said White. “You really don’t know until you go through this. When Jerry got home he told me being isolated in hospital is one thing, but there are so many people there that are one foot in life and one foot in death, so it was an unreal experience.”
Jerry told the Optimist that he is thankful for all the prayers and support from the family that got him through this ordeal.
“Starting to feel a bit better for sure,” he said. “This is something that no one should ever have to go through.”
