Carolyn

We were all congratulating ourselves that West Virginia was the last state in the country with no Covid cases.
But my husband was sick, and would soon become Covid patient number one in West Virginia.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA - In the middle of March 2020, my husband came home from work and was not feeling well. His condition worsened, and his temperature rose to 104. I became concerned that he had Covid. I called a Covid hotline 800 number, but it didn’t work. After answering a series of questions, I called the state health department and was told that James should be screened. I called our GP to make an appointment and was told he could not come in; they were not set up for Covid. Again, they told me to call the 800 number that did not work.

About this time, I began to think that nobody in West Virginia knew what to do about Covid. We were all congratulating ourselves that West Virginia was the last state in the country with no Covid cases. But my husband was sick, and he needed help. Based on my previous experience in getting health care for our disabled son, I knew I needed to be persistent to get the Covid test for my husband.

I took James to the hospital, leaving him in the car while I went into the ER. They told me that they could not help with Covid, call the 800 number.

I don’t take “no” for an answer. I refused to leave until someone came out to help us. Finally, a head nurse went to the parking lot and observed James. She agreed that he needed to be examined, and they took him through the back door into the ER. After a series of tests that came back negative, he was tested for Covid. They sent us home to quarantine while we awaited the results.

When the results did not come back, I called the county and was told there was no record of James’ Covid test. By this time, I was feeling ill and had a high temperature. Frustrated, I called the governor’s office but got no help there. Then, the hospital called back and said that they had lost James’ test. He’d have to be retested, but he could not return to the hospital. They promised to send locations of other testing sites.

I called our U.S. senator and was promised that I’d hear back from them within a day. Soon thereafter, I was called by the West Virginia Health Department. They’d found James’ test, and it was positive.

James was Covid patient number one in West Virginia.

I was tested and found out I also had Covid. Within a week, drive-through testing sites became available, and the state posted a website to provide further information on how to deal with Covid.

James and I both recovered at home. It was harder for him because of his weakened lung condition. It took me about a month to get my energy back. 

In spite of seeing what we’ve gone through, there are people around us who don’t believe Covid is real. But Covid is real, and it’s dangerous. I’m concerned that the high costs of Covid tests will keep low-income people from getting tested.

We feel fortunate to have made it through Covid and now donate our antibody-rich blood plasma in hopes of helping others.