HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas — With all of the numbers and statistics on COVID-19, some are beginning to forget the human side of the pandemic.
CBS19 has set out to tell the stories of East Texans who have fought the coronavirus battle.
This week, we speak with Rusk County woman, Patricia Jameson, who explains her personal journey with COVID-19.
Jameson contracted the virus before most people even realized it was in the United States.
"I feel strongly that I got it at the Houston livestock show on March 4th," she said. "We went down to see Willie Nelson, there were 70,000 people there. For about 2 to 3 weeks before that, I wasn’t around anybody and four days after the symptoms started."
Jameson recalls the headaches started on March 8 and lasted about six days.
"On the 10th I lost all taste and smell, she said. "The diarrhea hit around the 12th and fatigue sit in. I had no idea what I had, nobody was talking about COVID at the time, but I was Googling trying to find symptoms and loss of taste and smell wasn’t even mentioned then. After about 10 days, I went to a clinic and said something is majorly wrong. They tested me for the flu A and B and said you’re negative and sent me home."
Jameson wasn't tested for the coronavirus since she hadn't traveled to China.
"The first clinic said you haven’t been to China so we cannot test you, and I thought 'OK what do I have?' I couldn’t get answers," she said. "About a week later I called another clinic and they said they just started testing for COVID in Nacogdoches. I think I might’ve been the first one to get tested there. I had to drive myself, that was very difficult. I didn’t feel comfortable with the first test that he did, through no fault of their own, they were just getting started and four days later it came back negative. I went to a doctor about a week later and he said I think you got a false negative. I want you retested and that came back positive."
Jameson received a positive test result on the fourth week. She says the severe symptoms lasted about another 10 days.
"The fatigue comes and goes, and even to this day I still don’t have taste and smell back," she said. "It’s just something I’ve learned to live with.
Haven’t gone through this what is your advice to others about COVID-19?
Jameson advises others to take COVID-19 seriously.
"It may not affect you that seriously, but it could be devastating to someone else, and it’s not fair to take that chance with somebody’s life," she said.
Jameson battled with the virus for six weeks and thought she was done with it, but at a recent doctor visit, she was told some of her lung damage is permanent.
If you or someone you know has had a personal fight with the coronavirus, text us at (903) 600-2600.