It was a simple case of COVID. So why was the pain off the charts?
As told to Rachael Lavon
My story begins as thousands of other did — at the end of March I came down with flu-like symptoms.
After checking in with my doctor and doing a swab, I was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the beginning of April. My options were limited in terms of in-person care, so the diagnosis of pneumonia was also made over the phone without the requisite X-ray.
As a busy mother in my early forties, I wasn’t considered a high-risk patient, but my doctor prescribed Zithromax and Plaquenil (also known as hydroxychloroquine) over the phone and told me to start taking them right away. I started the medication immediately as per my doctors’ instructions, but to my surprise I felt increasingly worse as the day wore on.
In the middle of the night I began having stomach pains and got up to use the bathroom. The next thing I knew, I was flat on the floor, my husband standing over me, looking scared. Apparently, I’d fainted and he heard the crash and came running. I felt totally disoriented while my husband helped me up then called Hatzalah.
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