Tacoma COVID survivor: Trump ‘absolutely incorrect’ to downplay threat of virus

Tacoma nurse Tammy Edwards and her husband Brian both have had COVID-19, and even after recovering from the illness, they’re still suffering through symptoms. Suffice it to say, when Edwards saw President Trump tell the nation to not let the virus “dominate your life,” she was upset.

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“When the president said that we need to not let it consume us, he’s absolutely incorrect,” she told KIRO Radio’s Gee and Ursula Show. “Everybody needs to be concerned — this is something that is very scary.”

Similar to the president, Tammy and Brian both received remdesivir to treat the virus. Still, even months after the fact, Tammy is suffering the after-effects of the virus, which have taken the form of a variety of debilitating symptoms. That includes headaches, fatigue, muscle weakness, neuropathy, and difficulty regulating her heart rate. Those symptoms have also prevented her from returning to work.

“It almost feels like my body has been poisoned,” she described.

To hear the president downplay the illness — especially after her own husband spent time on a ventilator in the hospital — raised concerns for her that others won’t fully understand how serious the virus really is.

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“People need to be concerned that what the president said was completely irresponsible,” she said. “I am beside myself — that should not have ever been said.”

Edwards is hoping to spread awareness, to show people that the virus truly can affect anyone.

“If you get it, it doesn’t discriminate,” she said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen to you. I took every precaution. I was very careful. And God bless those that are asymptomatic or have a mild case. But why would you want to risk it?”

Listen to the Gee and Ursula Show weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.