Coronavirus survivor shares hope, claims experimental Ebola drug saved him

As many are quarantining at home because of coronavirus, one of the other big points of attack is the search for a vaccine.

(Note: The MyNorthwest and KIRO Radio staff are not health experts. Please consult your health care provider with questions regarding coronavirus.)

KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson was recently joined by a patient who has tested positive for coronavirus, and found success after taking an experimental drug.

“A couple weeks ago, I got home from work, and all of a sudden I started running a really, really high fever. I started coughing. I honestly felt like an elephant or something was stepping on my chest,” Chris said.

He was eventually told he had coronavirus and isolated, but given an experimental drug.

“The doctor came in and started talking to me about a treatment a drug called Remdesivir, and says, ‘By the way we developed this to deal with Ebola.'”

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“It didn’t end up working too well for Ebola, but it did end up working very well for my husband,” Chris’ wife, Susan added.

Hearing that an experiment drug would be tried out on him for this virus was a bit uncomfortable, but considering his state, Chris was up for it.

“I was in a bed in a bad enough space at the time, saying, ‘Sure, you know what? Let’s try something here. And I’m super blessed that they did what they did, and I was certainly in a great space to be at a hospital with the infectious disease doctor who knew about this and was able to give me a treatment,” Chris said. “I hope others that do go through this have that kind of ability where they’re at.”

Chris believes that the drug may have saved his life.

“I think so. I mean, I like to think my body’s pretty strong, but I have to say after taking it within about 48 hours, the temperature dropped dramatically. My breathing was really what scared me the most, or you know, the lack of breathing. Every day, getting up to go to the restroom or across the room or whatever was the most laborious thing I could do,” he said.

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“So it was definitely a breath of fresh air, so to speak, where I could get up, move across the room and it wasn’t like someone was squeezing my chest the entire time. But yeah, I think the Remdesivir certainly did an amazing job.”

Susan and her son both ended up tested positive as well, but they both had more mild symptoms.

“We got called by the health department. We have a 15 year-old son that lives here at home, and my son and I both tested positive for it, but we both had just a very mild version of it. Just a low-grade fever and a cough. I had a headache, and I would say within three to four days it was completely gone. So we’re fine,” she said.

Chris says many of his friends are taking coronavirus even more seriously now that it happened to someone they know personally, but he still has a message of hope for those who are concerned.

“It came at me and kicked my butt for a while, but you know, your body will fight this and get through it … A lot of people may get this, but at the same time, it’s not fatal for everybody. It’s manageable.”

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.