Victorville woman tests positive for COVID-19 twice
VICTORVILLE, Calif. - A Victorville woman is grateful to be alive after testing positive for COVID-19 twice at a hospital.
Janice Brown, 66, tested positive for coronavirus at the Desert Valley Medical Group in Victorville. Her doctor, Imran Siddiqui, the Medical Director at Desert Valley Medical Group, cared for her along with a team of nurses.
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"COVID-19 is no joke," said Janice Brown as she described her journey battling the illness. She said on many occasions, she feared she was going to "die."
"I called my family and I told them [that I thought I was going to die], but I thank God for a team of doctors and nurses and my family for the prayers that kept me fighting," said Brown.
Brown was treated at the hospital for over a week and given medications. Once her symptoms started going away, she was released from the hospital and stayed quarantined at home for 18 days. However, exactly 18 days later, she came down with a fever at her dialysis appointment.
"At that time, she spiked a temperature of about 102 degrees Fahrenheit, and she was having chills. She was lethargic, very fatigued," said Dr. Siddiqui.
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She was sent back to Desert Valley and Siddiqui cared for her a second time.
"As I was going through my admissions from last night, I see Ms. Brown's name on there and it caught me off guard because I'm like is this someone with the same name, a similar complaint, or is this the same person?" said Siddiqui.
Siddiqui went into the patient's room and realized Janice Brown was the same patient he treated previously. The question now is if she contracted Covid-19 twice or if the virus did not go away the first time.
"We just don't know for sure if it was a re-infection truly or if the virus was shedding just a long period of time," said Siddiqui.
Brown described battling COVID-19 as a "life-changing experience."
"I now take everything seriously. I don't go out without washing my hands, my gloves, my mask, and I make sure that when I come home, I make sure that I'm changing my shoes at the door," said Brown.
Brown said she has a number of underlying health conditions including heart problems but never had to be put on a ventilator.
"Truly at several occasions, I thought that I was going to die and it caused me to get closer to God, and I thank God for family, and I thank God for a team of doctors and nurses that God orchestrated to be at the right place at the right time to take care of me," said Brown.
Brown is now feeling much better and is symptom-free at home.