OVERCOMING COVID
She’s among the first to recover
R
isk management officer Kris Meyer, MSN, RN, has worked at Bryan for five years, and her nursing career spans more than 27 years. But this winter she was among the millions worldwide who experienced a new health threat. Kris was one of the first to test positive for COVID-19 at Bryan. This is the story of her gradual recovery. “As a nurse,” Kris says, “I was concerned not only about my health and my family’s health, but also for people I had contact with before I had symptoms as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to spread in Lincoln. “I presumably contracted COVID-19 during a trip to Nashville in mid-March with my husband and two oldest children, despite using lots of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes,” she says. “By March 18, I had a fever of 101 degrees, plus a cough, headache, sore throat and body aches. When my tests for influenza and pneumonia came back negative, my doctor instructed me to selfisolate at home because it was likely I had COVID-19. “Thirteen days later, I received the positive COVID test results.” Working while in isolation Kris was able to work a few hours a day from her bed. She says she had excellent support from family and friends, and her family was quarantined for 19 days. But her long recovery was only just beginning. “On day 20 of my illness, I was hospitalized to determine if I had a secondary infection like pneumonia because
my symptoms were not improving. I was very fortunate that my lungs were not affected and my pre-existing mild asthma was not made worse.” After hospitalization Kris returned home to self-isolation and subsequently developed a blood clot in her arm, a condition she learned can be associated with COVID-19. After 32 days of isolation, she finally was able to leave her bedroom. “I then began the task of rebuilding my strength, which was more challenging than I expected,” she says. “Five weeks after first developing symptoms, I was able to return
to work at Bryan East Campus.” In the ensuing months, she’s slowly regained her stamina despite dealing with new back pain issues. Learning from what’s happened “This virus doesn’t discriminate or spare people based on race, gender, age or previous health status,” Kris points out. “Before I contracted COVID I was active and healthy — but for over a month, I was very sick. There are, though, pearls of wisdom in every life experience. “As humbling as it was to suffer
Kris Meyer was isolated for five weeks while she recovered from COVID-19 symptoms. She worked from home (left) until the happy day (right) she was able to return to her risk management office at Bryan East Campus.
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