Georgia Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, M.D.’s experience as a COVID-19 patient

COVID-19

My experience as a COVID-19 patient

By Georgia Senator Kay Kirkpatrick, M.D.

As a state senator, I am around hundreds of people every day during our legislative session. The year’s ‘Crossover Day’ (i.e., the last day a bill must pass at least one of the two chambers to have a chance of passing) was March 12, and on March 14, I developed a fever and dry cough. Because the combination of my age (65) and respiratory symptoms and a fever met the criteria, my primary care physician had me take a COVID-19 test. She also recommended that I remain in complete isolation – in a separate room from my husband, Dr. Tom Haltom.

As a fellow physician, Tom was very strict when it came to me remaining isolated and making sure that we both followed CDC’s recommendations to a tee. I ended up staying in my bedroom for two weeks. As for my symptoms, the fever was present for a couple of days. My doctor told me that I could come out of isolation seven days after the onset of the first symptom and three days with no fever without taking acetaminophen. Unfortunately, my fever returned before I hit that milestone. This seems to be a common occurrence with this virus, as there is a cytokine response that can worsen the pulmonary symptoms that results in a “second wave” of symptoms. It took me a full two weeks to fully recover. The nonproductive cough lingered well past the fever. Although my appetite was poor, I’m not sure if I ever lost my sense of smell, which is another common symptom. My energy level was low, but not as much of a complete wipe-out as the normal flu. Had I experienced any shortness of breath or decreased O2 saturation, I would have gotten a chest X-ray. But the last place I wanted to be was the hospital. For the most part, I relied on Tylenol and cough drops – although I did get an albuterol inhaler that seemed to help with the cough. Some have suggested taking hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, but I didn’t see any medical reason to do so. Without clinical trials, I would be reluctant to take something off-label that people need for other conditions. That said, I also understand that doctors who are treating patients who have severe cases of COVID-19 are in a completely different situation. As it turned out, five of the members of the Georgia Senate tested positive for COVID-19 – although it took a full week to

Senator Kay Kirkpatrick, M.D.

get the test results. In a precautionary move that I supported in full, the entire legislature was eventually quarantined for 14 days. Based on the feedback that I received from fellow lawmakers, we were all lucky enough to have friends who were kind enough to drop off some food, run some simple errands for us, and be good neighbors in general. I also received a lot of much-appreciated well wishes from my family and friends, constituents, and fellow physicians. I continued to work from home and participated in conference calls that were related to Senate business, the Primary Care Subcommittee of the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force, and the MAG Medical Reserve Corps. I also continued corresponding with and helping my constituents. I hope that the large percentage of COVID-19 cases are similar to mine. I hope that most people can recover at home with symptomatic treatment. I also hope that my beloved colleagues and their families are safe. Finally, I appreciate and admire every physician and allied health care provider and support staff who showed up and did their job despite the personal risk. I will continue to do my best to be an effective advocate for doctors and other health care professionals in my role as an elected official. Editors note: Thank you to Dr. Kirkpatrick for taking the time to write this article and sharing her experience. Senator Kirkpatrick represents the 32nd District, which includes East Cobb and Sandy Springs. An orthopaedic hand surgeon in Atlanta for over 30 years, she served as the president of Resurgens Orthopaedics. Senator Kirkpatrick is a member of the MAG Medical Reserve Corps. MAG members can contact Senator Kirkpatrick at kay. kirkpatrick@senate.ga.gov or 404.656.3932.