Imagine having a fever for 31 days along with debilitating fatigue, a scratchy throat, cough, and trouble breathing. That was the case for Jessica I., age 34, of St. Louis. She is a COVID survivor, a Crohn’s warrior on immunosuppressant medications, a wife, a mom to two little ones, and an attorney.

Hindsight is 20-20 and of course we know a bit more about COVID-19 now than we did when quarantine and chaos ensued in mid-March, but let me take you back to how this all went down for Jessica and her family.

Her daughters, age 4 and 19 months go to the same preschool and daycare. Their last day was March 11^th. Jessica received an email from the director of the school saying a record number of teachers and students were out with the flu and strep. Except later it was determined the sickness going around the school was COVID-19. Two teachers landed in the ICU and multiple kids and parents tested positive in her older daughter’s class.

How the symptoms presented

“The first change was extreme fatigue and a scratchy throat, almost like cotton balls were stuck in my throat. Two days later I started with a low-grade fever. I felt pretty lousy for three days—fever, chills, and aches,” says Jessica. “I had one day where I felt better (March 26), but the following day I felt worse than before with a much higher fever and I had a dry cough. I felt constriction in my chest with every breath I took.”

Jessica’s husband was proactive and had ordered the family a pulse ox back in February, so she was able to monitor her oxygenation throughout her illness. She never dipped below 92, but the chills, painful aches, headaches, and fever from 99-101 stayed with her for over a month.

Still not 100%

“Though I no longer have a fever, I still have good days and bad days. I still have chills, aches, and extreme fatigue. It’s way more manageable, but I’m definitely not 100%,” says Jessica. “Luckily, I did not have the smell and taste issues, but because I felt so awful, I’ve lost 25 pounds.”

Jessica is grateful her Crohn’s disease has not caused her problems in recent weeks. Diagnosed at age 12, IBD has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember.

She had two bad flares during her second pregnancy and most recently an eight-month flare last year. When her Remicade infusion was due this month, her GI was adamant she stay on schedule since she no longer had a fever. Jessica was terrified about getting a biologic on the heels of having COVID-19, so she chose to extend her medication schedule by one week. Her worries were justified.

“In 2006, I got my Remicade when I had mono (hadn’t known at the time) and got encephalitis and had to be in a UK hospital in the ICU for a month. I lost my ability to talk. I almost died. My GI doctor knows of this history, but insisted that I needed my Remicade because of my history of getting flares the last few years.”

Despite her apprehension, Jessica trusted her long-time physician’s recommendations and stayed on her Remicade and Imuran.

Balancing motherhood while fighting COVID-19

The first 12 days, Jessica isolated herself from her family in her master bedroom. Her husband worked a full-time job from home, while taking care of both girls on his own. Once Jessica’s fever persisted after two weeks, they decided as a family to have her come out of isolation because the burden was nearly impossible for her husband to continue to take on.

“We knew almost for sure that my children were asymptomatic and gave me COVID-19. The next two weeks anytime I was out of my room I wore a mask and gloves. I didn’t make any food. This was so hard because I was still extremely sick and was just supervising play and TV watching for my girls. To this day, my husband and I are still sleeping in different rooms and not hugging and I’m not going anywhere near his food.”

Jessica’s husband is an avid news consumer and was following everything that was happening in China. He started to stockpile food and wipes back in January. Friends thought he was overreacting. His grandparents are Holocaust survivors. Jessica credits his “alertness” to that.

What Jessica wants people to know

Even though Jessica was able to fight the illness without being hospitalized, she says if we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic, she would have gone to the hospital in “normal” times.

“Mild COVID isn’t mild COVID. What I had was considered mild and I was so sick for so long…and I’m still not feeling completely better. I think people would change their mind about the severity of this if they knew someone who had COVID-19 or they themselves experienced it.”

To this day, Jessica still has chest pain and backaches. Her care team believe she has inflammation in her lungs because she was sick for so long.