Rays of sunshine warmed Ravi Turman’s skin and a spring breeze rippled over her body as she left the hospital, proving to Ravi that she was indeed alive. Ravi’s survival had been very much in doubt at times over the 15 days she spent at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. She had arrived in grave condition on the night of March 22, struggling to breathe as her lips turned blue. Then within hours, both of her lungs collapsed and a ventilator had to breathe for her. A test confirmed what her team already suspected: she had COVID-19. Ravi’s doctors gave her a 50% chance — at best — of ever getting off the ventilator and surviving. She faced especially bleak odds because Ravi, 51, has some underlying health issues including diabetes and high blood pressure. Ten years ago, she had uterine cancer and had had to have dozens of lymph nodes removed. Plus, she’s African American. COVID-19 has been sickening and killing African Americans at an alarming rate across the U.S. Doctors don’t know exactly why African Americans are faring so poorly during the pandemic. One contributing factor may be that a greater percentage of African Americans have conditions like diabetes, heart problems and hypertension. Bringing sunshine to others Ravi’s name means sun in Sanskrit and she believes she survived her ordeal with COVID-19 to bring a little sun to others. “There’s not a lot of hope out there for anyone getting the virus, but if I survived, anyone can survive,” Ravi said. “Don’t be dismayed by what you hear, just because we are getting it. There is hope.” In addition to bringing comfort to African Americans and
COVID-19 Survivor
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people with underlying health conditions, who are justifiably frightened about COVID-19, Ravi’s sunny attitude cheered her nurses and doctors. Against the odds, she was the first person in her COVID19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to make it off the ventilator and to once again breathe on her own. “She surprised us,” said Dr. Josh Douin, the anesthesiologist who made the call to “extubate” Ravi, removing her breathing tube and detaching her from the ventilator. “She’s spunky. She had a strong will to live and to leave the hospital,” Douin said. “She was our first victory. It was really a morale boost for the team to see that we could get people through to recovery. We’ve had some losses too, so it’s been great to have victories.” Dr. Julie Winkle cared for Ravi the day after she was extubated. Ravi was weak still and her throat was too sore to talk, but when Winkle let Ravi know she was the first person in the ICU to get her breathing tube out, Ravi flashed a beautiful smile and celebrated.
“She raised her hands over her head. She was pumping her fists in the air,” Winkle said. “Her personality came through. She just has this innate feistiness and she used it to get better.” A newcomer to Colorado and a bout with a new virus Ravi is a minister and loves to sing, dance and revel in life. Before moving to Colorado a couple of months ago from Indiana to be with her 29-yearold daughter, Ana Caldwell, Ravi served a small congregation at Impact Christian Church. “My focus is just being a positive light for anyone. It doesn’t have to be about shoving the Bible down someone’s throat. It’s just being a positive light. I was in the hospital a long time. I got to see the nurses and the doctors and you could see that they were tired, but they were trying to be upbeat. I would hold their hand and look them in the eye and tell them, ‘Thank you for helping me.’” She came to Colorado for Christmas to be with Ana and ultimately decided to stay.
Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – May 2020
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Ravi started working at the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. She doesn’t drive, so she took two buses and a train to get to her job. Ana believes that’s how her mom became exposed to the new coronavirus, which by early March was circulating throughout Colorado and the U.S. A cold that never got better At first, Ravi thought she just had a bad cold. But the cough grew worse and she had a fever that wouldn’t break. Ravi’s boss encouraged her to see a doctor, but it was the weekend and Ravi hesitated to go to the hospital. “I had some shortness of breath, but I brushed it off because I’m still new to Colorado. I thought, ‘It’s just me.’ Indiana is below sea level and moving here was a big change,” she said. On Sunday evening, March 22, she was Face Timing with her 81-year-old mother, Doris Davis, a former jazz singer and retired paralegal and project director for Indiana Legal Services, Inc. Davis lives in Indiana. Davis noticed that her daughter’s face had a purplishblue tint to it.
