Worcester Woman Hospitalized For 3 Months Due To COVID Now Dealing With Kidney Failure
WORCESTER (CBS) -- 29-year-old Emilianne Fitzpatrick of Worcester was living her best life.
She was healthy, a college student, a nanny for two little girls, and newly pregnant with her partner of five years when in November she suddenly developed vomiting and diarrhea and tested positive for COVID. Within a week, she was having shortness of breath, chest pain, and trouble walking. By the time she got to the hospital, she was in severe heart failure, placed on a ventilator, and wasn't expected to live.
"They told my girlfriend and my father to come and say goodbye to me because they didn't think I was going to make it," she says. "And like when my girlfriend and my dad both told me the stories because they both told me separately, they had tears in their eyes, and I could feel their pain. And I just started to cry because I don't remember anything."
Emilianne is finally home after spending three months in the hospital. She developed kidney failure and remains on dialysis. She uses leg braces and a cane to help her walk. She may eventually need a kidney transplant. And she lost the pregnancy. But through sheer grit and determination, Emilianne hopes to make a full recovery.
"I just hope to get stronger," she explains, "And do more physical therapy. And I hope once I become fully recovered, we can start trying for a baby again because we were trying for five months and that's something we really wanted. Just to travel and live life."
Her family and friends are holding a fundraiser to help defray the cost of her medical care and raise awareness about kidney disease on Saturday, April 16 in Dorchester.
She said she had not been vaccinated, as she had concerns about potential side effects. She told me she hopes people at least protect themselves by wearing masks and she worries about young people hanging out at bars.
But as a doctor, I want to remind anybody out there who is not fully vaccinated and who has not gotten at least one booster, to please do so as soon as possible because you're still at risk of severe COVID, like Emilianne was.
And there's strong evidence that the vaccines can also significantly reduce your chances of developing long COVID symptoms.
