(SAVANNAH, GEORGIA) — A UK grad and sports anchor in Savannah, Georgia, is using her social media platform to share her experience battling the coronavirus and getting emergency surgery. The 27-year-old hopes using her platform to tell her story will make people take the illness seriously.
Lyndsey Gough tested positive nearly a month ago, after feeling ill for a few days. While she recovered at home, she started having pain in her abdomen. "I couldn't sit up in bed, and I almost passed out taking my dog for a walk. Severe, severe, pain and nothing really helped."
After a couple days of agony, the university of Kentucky grad took herself to the hospital. Doctors told her she would need emergency surgery to remove her appendix.
A week later, Lyndsey is still in the hospital. "After I got out of the surgery, he told me my appendix was the size of a baseball. Which is a lot bigger than it should be. They had to remove apart of my bowel."
Lyndsey, a sports anchor and reporter for the CBS affiliate in Savannah, Georgia, has been covering the coronavirus for months. While she's been in the hospital, the journalist has been sharing her story on social media.
So today’s update (so far): tube is out 🙌🏼 surgeon confirms that COVID has made this recovery much more difficult (I retested positive 1 week ago. I’ve been hospitalized a week). I’m still on oxygen and IV. Now that I can more more freely, I’m more comfortable (1/2)
— Lyndsey Gough (@LGonTV) July 16, 2020
She says she is familiar with the illness and how hospitals have been handling it, but it's surreal to experience it first hand.
"They put my head in a clear box, almost what you would see a preemie baby inside of, even though they had that PPE, just to further limit that exposure. You feel really cut off, nobody can touch you."
Lyndsey hopes people take the coronavirus more seriously. "Death isn't the only thing that quantifies this is because this has been terrible, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. This is the sickest I've ever been in my life."
There isn't a timeline for when she will be released from the hospital.
A GoFundMe has been started for Lyndsey.
