Roosevelt Island Wife Describes What It Has Been Like For Her And Husband Who Tested Positive For Coronavirus - Does Not Have To Be Deadly And They Received Wonderful Care And Concern From Friends And Neighbors She Says

Roosevelt Island resident Barbara Packer describes what is has been like for her and husband Joel who tested positive for the Coronavirus.

According to this message Ms Packer posted on the Rivercross Building online bulletin board:

Some of you know that Joel was the person who tested positive for COVID-19. We are keenly aware of how lucky we are to be part of the Rivercross community. We have been the recipients of wonderful care and concern from friends and neighbors and, for that, we are so grateful. I wrote "Corona, Contagion, Confusion" about our experience for a friend of mine, publisher of PULSE: Voices from the Heart of Medicine, an online e-magazine where you will find it.

If you read it, you will see that Joel never left our apartment from the moment we arrived home at 10 pm on Monday the March 2nd. I did not isolate the first week because we were under the impression that Joel did not have the virus. I was rarely out because of caring for him, and any close friends/neighbors with whom I was in close proximity, were told. Thus far, no one has had any symptoms. Hopefully, that remains the case; Tomorrow will be 2 weeks that I have also been self-quarantined. I hope that the piece gives you solace in knowing that it does not have to be deadly. I also hope that you don’t have to know that firsthand.

Here's an excerpt from Ms Packer's March 20 Pulse article:

My husband Joel, age seventy-six, has tested positive for the virus--the new big C.

Joel developed a low-grade fever on March 1. We were in San Francisco, visiting our ten-month-old grandson and his parents. They'd all had bad colds, and our grandson was still coughing and producing large amounts of sticky nasal stuff, so I wasn't surprised when Joel got sick. (I figured that I eventually would, too.)

We went to a local urgent-care clinic. A competent physician assistant examined Joel, then assured us that he didn't have the coronavirus: His vital signs were all good, and except for a 100.5° fever, he had no symptoms.

We flew home to New York City on March 2. That was two and a half weeks ago, and Joel has been in bed ever since.

For the first week, his main symptoms were a low-grade fever and fatigue, with no cough or respiratory distress. At that point, he started to feel short of breath and developed a dry, intermittent cough (which he generally gets every winter).

He grew more and more anxious, and by Wednesday, March 11, we knew that we needed to get him to an ER. We chose one where we'd previously had a good experience....

... Update: "For the past two days, Joel has felt a bit better. After not eating much for more than a week, he's now taking in small meals. His fever is gone, and though still tired, he's no longer totally exhausted. I still have a sore throat, but no cough or fever to speak of. We believe that I have a very mild case of COVID-19. And it appears that even Joel's more severe case is on the wane, thanks to time, lots of fluids, sleep--and luck."

Click here to read the entire article.

Roosevelt Island is our community.

New York is a community. That means we rely on each other.

We ALL need to practice social distancing.

That's part of the social contract, especially now when it counts.

Help your community! #StayAtHome pic.twitter.com/78Nzv4TARd

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 22, 2020

Please wash your hands and keep your physical distance from others - at least 6 feet

Heard of #FlattenTheCurve & #StopTheSpread? Well, this is the graphic everyone needs to understand. We all have to change our behaviour NOW. So, WASH YOUR HANDS AND STAY PHYSICALLY DISTANT. Even better STAY HOME. Please share. #Covid_19 #COVIDー19 Thanks @XTOTL & @TheSpinoffTV pic.twitter.com/z455Lpr47O

— Dr Siouxsie Wiles (@SiouxsieW) March 21, 2020

and we'll all get through this.