I was admitted to the hospital thru the ER department with COVID-19 and Pneumonia and ended up with water on my lungs as well. From the ER I was moved to a suspect COVID room pending my official COVID test results from Urgent Care who had sent me for testing earlier that morning (12-10). Once my test results came back positive, I was moved to the COVID Isolation unit.
I had a high temperature of 102-103, a high heart rate of 120-130s, and for several days my fever would cause me to burn up despite me being on a continual dose of Tylenol and Ibuprofen. I had full-body shakes, started bleeding vaginally, and developed diarrhea and shortness of breath. The fevers got so bad, I needed 4 large ice bags under my armpits, neck, and on my chest to stop burning up.
I am a 58-year-old healthy whole foods plant-based Vegan. I have never had surgery or even broken bone. To say that I was terrified is an understatement!! I prayed daily to survive and gave thanks daily for all the Angel nurses taking care of me.
Of all my nurses, Eric Cliff spent the most days with me gently and compassionately taking care of me. He not only gave me all my meds and IVs but he told me what was happening in my body to help me understand why my body was doing what it was doing. There were days I was too weak to go to the bathroom and could not wipe myself. I was so embarrassed but Eric helped me each time and treated me like I was his grandmother. The kindness in his eyes and speech and demeanor was my lifeline, my hope, my family. Eric was my Arch Angel nurse!!! Thank you Eric for nursing me back to health! I will never forget you. May God bless you eternally for you truly are a Nurse Angel.