Jennica Harris, 33, still struggles with the lingering effects left behind by the coronavirus that sickened her in April.
“I still get the eye pain, the watery eyes, joint pain, muscle pain, muscle aches,” explained Harris.
In March, her husband, a commercial airline pilot, was called in for a flight to Cancun. He made a one-day trip and stayed in his hotel, but came home not knowing he contracted the virus.
Harris was soon diagnosed with COVID-19 and spent the next three weeks in bed. But unlike others, Harris' life has not returned to normal. Instead, it's been completely flipped upside down.
“I have a new inhaler that I just got, I’m constantly checking my pulse, I have this Pepcid for reflux, I check my temperature, I have a blood pressure machine, acetaminophen and I actually got heart medication,” said Harris. “I’m only 33 and I have to take all this medication I don’t want to have to take.”
She wants people to learn from her struggles -- to realize this is unlike any illness we have seen before. She warns the virus has not gone away and that opening up could lead to crowded areas where people aren't socially distancing.
Caught in a limbo of sickness and health with a disease medical professionals are still trying to figure out, Harris has one message for our county.
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“It’s not the time to open,” said Harris. “We’re not ready for it. We don’t have this under control.”
Harris' husband and their daughter also experienced similar symptoms, but theirs were very mild.
We've also heard from other recovered COVID-19 patients who say they struggle with a lot of unexplained consequences of the virus that doctors can't explain. And they think that needs to be taken into consideration before things open up again.
