“It probably took about seven to eight weeks to get my taste and smell back completely,” Ms. Jen Davis, a former ER nurse, said. 

COVID-19 has created the most difficult challenge the medical field has ever had to face. Nurses witness first hand how the virus affects each of their patients, whether they had health issues prior to contracting the virus or not. 

Jen Davis, the mother of senior, Abbi Davis, worked as an ER nurse for 16 years, well before the coronavirus began. Once Ms. Davis was informed that she would be working with COVID-19 positive patients, she had the same fears anyone would have.

“It didn’t bother me because I just wanted to help people,” she said. “My only thought was my family.”

In May, Ms. Davis hadn’t realized she contracted the virus until she sat at her desk at work, exhausted with extreme body aches. An ER doctor saw her condition and immediately told her she had COVID-19 and should return home. After being tested at the immediate care center, the results returned the next day, COVID positive. She mentioned that she had been previously doing yard work and assumed that was the reasoning for her exhaustion and body aches.

“I probably slept 18-20 hours a day for at least five days,” she said.

As of Sept. 22, there have been a total of 1,531 new COVID cases in the state of Illinois. The total number of cases in the United States has surpassed 39,000.

Ms. Davis also experienced shortness of breath a week prior to testing positive for COVID-19, but she was in denial. 

After recovering from a cough, head-to-toe body aches, and a fever, Ms. Davis thought she was ready to return back to work until she endured what she described “the worst back pain” of her life. 

She was out of work for three weeks and was only safe to return if she went 10 days without any symptoms of COVID-19. Fortunately, Ms. Davis made a full recovery from the virus. She now works as a home infusion nurse.

Abbi Davis was nervous when her mom informed her that she would be working with COVID positive patients.

“My mom’s a healthy person so I was kind of nervous since healthy people seem to be dying [from COVID-19],” Davis said. 

Abbi Davis spent most of the time working when her mom had the virus, so if she ever contracted it, she never showed any symptoms. 

Both Abbi and Ms. Davis added that everyone should wear their masks to help keep people safe.