SARASOTA, Fla. -- A Sarasota woman returned home this week after recovering from COVID-19 the last three months.
When Sheila Moore tested positive for COVID-19 in June. At first, she thought it would be mild.
Moore said she quickly knew that was not going to be the case.
“Always been in good health and very quickly, I was conscious that it was not gonna be mild,” Moore said.
On June 30, she was admitted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
“I was in denial after getting, you know, diagnosed. I had one of these little oximeter things and I was looking at the numbers, they were going down. I was really in denial and I didn’t call anybody,” she said. “I thought OK, it’s just going to go right back up. Well, it didn’t and I really should have gone to the hospital a lot sooner.”
She eventually had to spend seven weeks on a ventilator in the hospital’s ICU. After that, she spent more time in rehabilitation.
“Don’t assume that your mom can’t get it, close ones, it’s devastating. I’d have to say it’s been the worst three months of my life. Living every day not knowing whether or not she was going to make it,” said Moore’s daughter, Vanessa Bartz.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital said Moore’s stay was the most time in the hospital out of the nearly 900 COVID-19 positive patients admitted there.
This week, Moore finally got to go home.
“It’s fantastic it’s beyond. I’m still tired and there’s a lot of relearning to do,” said Moore.
“I’m here visiting to take care of her and of course, I wanted to be there when she got out of the hospital and everything since I hadn’t been able to see her for the last three months... It’s amazing it just feels like it’s not even real you know,” said Bartz.
Moore said she still has a long road to recovery.
“I’m getting my strength back. I’m lucky and so forth, but you don’t know the consequences yet of having COVID on your lungs in three years, five years from now because it’s such a new disease,” Moore said.
But Moore said she’s grateful for the care she received at the hospital and in rehab.
“The amazing thing is, in about 20 days, they got me from not being able to put a foot on the ground, of course, because I had been laying so much, to being able to walk now and function. Still a lot to do but I’m getting there,” she said.
She’s now reminding others to not assume you can’t catch it, even if you’re young, and to wear your mask even if you’re tired of it.
“Wear your masks at all times, because I was really very, very careful and probably just that one time where I wasn’t,” she said. “Probably caught it at that time. And it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it. It’s amazing. I mean in three minutes you’re at death’s doorstep."
Now, Moore is finally home, reunited with her daughter.