LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Forty-seven-year-old Kathryn Cody has not felt relief since she first tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 2.
In the period of seven weeks, Cody has made countless visits to the emergency room when breathing became too difficult and has been hospitalized four times.
“This is nothing like I have ever experienced in my life. It is truly debilitating. It is truly a nightmare to go through,” Cody said. “I just wonder every time I fall asleep, am I gonna wake up? Is this going to kill me?”
In December, Cody spent a week in the intensive care unit of Baptist Health after being diagnosed with double pulmonary pneumonia.
“The doctor said he had never seen anybody have so much COVID in their lungs after fighting for a month,” she told LEX 18. “They told me I’m one of the people they call COVID long-haulers, and that, unfortunately, I got the long version of COVID.”
After several weeks of treatment, Cody began breathing easier. But it was short-lived.
Another visit to the emergency room in late January revealed blood clots had begun developing in Cody’s right lung, and she was hospitalized for the fourth time in less than two months.
“At any point, [the blood clot] can just suddenly decide to break off and I'm dead. I feel like I'm cheating death every single day. It's scary, and it's lonely,” she said. “I just want to feel better so badly, and I feel like it's never gonna happen.”
COVID-19 has not only taken a toll on Cody’s physical health. She said it is also chipping away at her financial stability and mental health.
“It’s been a nightmare I can’t seem to escape,” she said.
Cody has been off work for months because of the coronavirus. On Monday, her long-awaited return to work at Paws and Claws Pet Sitting and Dog Walking was postponed again because of her pulmonary embolism.
In December, a GoFundMe account to help Cody stay afloat met it’s $5,000 goal.
“I was so, so, so thankful,” she said. “It's just really, really hard and scary because you don't know what's gonna happen to you.”
With an unclear path forward as COVID-19 continues dictating her every move, Cody is reaching out for help, again.
She does not know how much longer COVID-19 will keep her from returning to work, and she does not know what medical complications await her if medicine cannot dissolve the coagulation in her lung.
You can donate to Kathryn Cody’s GoFundMe here.
