This is the nightmarish account of Darlene Krawetz, a nurse who has worked at a VA Hospital in Syracuse, New York. Ms. Krawetz is 52 years old, and is a vegetarian. She hikes, and kayaks. She is a former smoker, but it is not clear how many years she smoked, and how long it has been since she quit smoking.
Here is what Ms. Krawetz looked like in better days:
About two months ago, Ms. Krawetz became infected with the novel coronavirus. At first, she did not even realize it. The only symptom was a cough, and a fellow nurse asked her why she was coughing.
Her son also became infected, but he recovered quickly. It is not known whether she gave it to him, or he gave it to her.
At first, she appeared to have a mild case of CV-19, but then all hell broke loose. Her heart started racing, and she developed a fever.
I started getting symptoms right before New York shut down. I mix up my dates. My mind is all foggy. I’ve been a nurse for 30 years, and now I can’t even remember if my last Tylenol was five minutes or five hours ago. It feels like electricity is burning through my spine, and nobody can tell me why. It’s like I’m sucking air through a straw. When I stand up, my ears start ringing until dizziness forces me back down. Every symptom is a whole new mystery. This virus is unpredictable and so, so violent.
I’m up to 140 now. See? It’s relentless. How long can a heart last like this? The palpitations come a few times every hour and go on for a minute or more. It’s just banging, banging, banging, banging.
It hurts too much to talk. I’ll try again later. I have to lie down and breathe through it. That’s what they tell me to do.
She has been hospitalized twice, the first time for ten days. She had developed double pneumonia. The staff was going to put her on life support, but she resisted. Then, her fever dropped, and it stayed down for 36 hours. She was discharged from the hospital. She needed a portable oxygen tank, however, and once back at home, she stayed mostly in one room. Walking from that room to the bathroom really taxed her.
"One of my relatives went on Facebook and wrote that this whole virus is overblown, or maybe even a hoax."
"I hate this virus. It’s been two months of uncertainty and I don’t think I can take any more. Why are my legs burning? Why is my skin so hot? I need answers. I need help.
Her husband, who works as a manager at a supermarket, has kept his distance. Without his paycheck, they might be out on the street. They have used stimulus checks to pay for rent and co-pays, and have also started burning through their savings to pay other bills.
Then, her fever spiked again, and she was admitted back into the hospital. Her fever would not come down. The doctors told her that she had blood clots on her lungs, and a mass on one of her organs. They were trying to figure it out. As of May 7, there was no timeline, and no prognosis.
The Washington Post account ends there.
Every denier, every CV-19 truther should be made to read this story.