MARION COUNTY — Over the last few weeks, thousands of new COVID-19 cases have been identified daily in Indiana. One Irvington woman never thought she would get the virus, let alone be hospitalized with it.
"This pandemic is not over," Kathy, who is in her late 60s said. She is choosing to use her first name due to privacy concerns.
On Wednesday night, Kathy came home from the hospital on oxygen, barely able to go to the restroom without getting winded.
“I’m normally very active. I always say I’m a 30-year-old in a 60-year-old body," she said. But for almost two weeks, Kathy was inpatient at IU Methodist Hospital in a COVID-19 unit. She said the focus while in the hospital was elevating her oxygen levels. Her faith is what got her through.
"I think that faith means a lot. I think that hope means a lot, and I owe it to God," she said.
Kathy calls herself “a deep researcher.” Before contracting the virus, she said she looked into and purchased a "top notch mask." For months, she stayed isolated at home, adding she did not even go out to grocery shop. At the beginning of this month, though, she went to the dentist and veterinarian with her dog. Kathy said she wore a mask, but thinks she may have gotten the virus while out on those two trips.
Extreme nausea hit her first. A positive PCR test confirmed what she thought she avoided for months - COVID-19.
Kathy is unvaccinated.
"Because of my chemical sensitivities I did not," she said when asked why she wasn't vaccinated. "I will get vaccinated in the future as I recover from this and get my strength back," Kathy added.
As her recovery continues at home, Kathy is urging others to take the virus seriously and not let their guards down. She encourages the community to keep masking, social distancing, getting vaccinated and staying home.
"These are not normal times yet so you can't act normal even though people are, you might pay a price later," she said.
