Pandemic Portraits
Residents share their diverse experiences with COVID-19: four days in the hospital hooked up to oxygen, the anxiety of a positive test, lingering symptoms, impacts on employment and family, an ICU nurse on the front lines and more
By Beacon Staff
People who contract COVID-19 can have vastly different experiences: mild or no symptoms to severe illness.
While we hear and read that a lot, we don’t always have an opportunity to hear directly from those who have navigated that broad spectrum. Nor do we always consider the other factors at play, beyond straight symptomatology, such as anxiety over wondering if you’ve infected loved ones, or the logistics of isolating in your own home, or the toll the disease takes on a fitness enthusiast who is suddenly sidelined for weeks.
In this series of profiles, we try to present a variety of different perspectives from Flathead Valley residents who have been diagnosed with the disease, from relatively mild cases to scary bouts that required hospitalization. We also get to hear from an ICU nurse who has had a front-row seat to the harrowing process of keeping extremely ill patients alive in the local COVID-19 unit.
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‘You Don’t Want to Go Through What I Went Through’
By Myers Reece
For James Haring, an evening out led to four days in the hospital’s COVID unit hooked up to oxygen and intravenous Remdesivir.
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A Fitness Enthusiast Activities Director Gets Sidelined
By Micah Drew
Glacier High School Activities Director Mark Dennehy and his family were laid up with symptoms over the summer, while the fatigue lingered for weeks.
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Nurse in COVID Unit Describes Both Stress and Hope Amid Tragedy
By Myers Reece
Sarah Johnson is heartened by the gallant selflessness of front-line medical professionals among rising hospitalizations and staff shortages.
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Kalispell Cop Was in ‘Pure Agony’ During Depths of COVID-19 Illness
By Andy Viano
Justin Turner isolated from his family when he returned from an out-of-state work trip and navigated an array of symptoms.
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Teacher Navigates Mental, Physical Fallout After Diagnosis
By Andy Viano
Bethany Shehan warns that potentially exposing others to deadly virus is “not a good feeling.”