Kaydee Asher thought she was doing everything right. She wore masks and limited her time in public spaces.
The Green Valley High School student was a healthy 16-year-old who had not been ill in two years when she contracted the coronavirus last month. She began to have trouble breathing, felt tired and lost the ability to smell before being treated at St. Rose Dominican Hospital, the intensive care unit on the Siena campus in Henderson.
Frustrated by her plight, she went to Twitter with videos and photos, hoping to make her local classmates and teens known.
Her first tweet, posted on Monday, attracted around 70,000 likes and 40,000 retweets.
While in the hospital, they did a covid nasal test that would return in 1-2 hours. My chest x-rays showed mild swelling, but overall each test came back well and there were no signs of blood clots in my lungs. They put breathing treatments on me to try to ease the pain. pic.twitter.com/0LuAb0mPYo
– kaydee ♛ (@ kaydeegrace132) June 30, 2020
“I didn’t think I would get that much support,” he said. “I think my friends see things in a new light. Many friends texted me and said it made them think differently. “
Her mother, Sandra Asher, said she is proud of her daughter’s efforts to raise awareness as she recovers from the virus.
“I am really happy that she can channel her frustrations in writing and is educating others. It is a moment of pride for a parent. People are watching it, “she said.
Kaydee spent three days and two nights in the ICU, according to her mother. She was released on Monday.
Thinking back to the origins that led to her diagnosis, Kaydee said she remembers she had a runny nose. The following night her symptoms increased and her mother took her for the test. While waiting for the test results, Kaydee’s illness worsened.
“On Tuesday (6/23) while I was eating breakfast, I realized that the milk was about to expire. I put it in a cup, I smelled to see if the milk smelled bad and I couldn’t smell anything, ”he wrote in a tweet. “I didn’t think much until I smelled tabasco, smelling absolutely nothing and my nose was still burning.”
On June 24, he went to the hospital emergency room where they did another test. In two hours it was positive again. Chest x-rays showed he had mild inflammation. She was given medication and released to cope with symptoms at home.
By June 27, Kaydee had returned to the hospital.
“I woke up from my sleep with a big headache that looked like my head was a hot air balloon about to burst and I couldn’t breathe at all,” he wrote in another tweet. “I felt like the weights were on my lungs / chests and exhaling became difficult, as if there was trapped air.”
Kaydee is now recovering at her Las Vegas home.
During a phone interview on Thursday, she said she felt sicker and more tired than the day before. Her doctor told her it would not be normal for four to six weeks. Kaydee is currently only able to sleep in 3½ hour increments.
Sandra Asher recalled comforting her daughter while she was in the hospital.
“It is incredibly heartbreaking to see your son in so much pain and pain and not being able to do one thing to improve him,” she said.
She also remembers a crucial moment when she felt the need to hug her sick daughter in the hospital.
“She begged me not to hug her,” Sandra Asher said, noting at the time that she believed she had already contracted the virus because her daughter had it. “I just gave him the biggest hug. She feels my love and I feel hers. I don’t think I will forget that moment.
Kaydee also apologized to her mother for getting sick.
“She said, ‘Sorry, mom. This is going to cost you a lot, ‘”Sandra Asher recalled, noting that her daughter’s health is her top priority. “My salary doesn’t mean anything compared to my daughter’s health.”
Looking forward, Kaydee and her mother know that it will be difficult for her to overcome her anxiety about leaving the house.
“If I don’t think it’s safe enough, then I won’t go out,” Kaydee said, adding that she still hopes to return to school in the fall. “I know that I will take great precautions on my part. I guess we will have to see how it develops.
Contact Alex Chhith at [email protected] or 702-383-0290. Follow @alexchhith on Twitter.
