LOVED
LOVED ONES DURING THIS CHALLENGING TIME OF OUR HISTORY.
I WANT TO INTRODUCE OUR FIRST
GUEST, AMELIA CORTES IS A YOUNG
MOTHER, SHE CONTRACTED COVID-19
WHILE EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT.
AND ENDED UP IN THE ICU.
I WANT TO THANK AMELIA FOR
SHARING HER VERY DIFFICULT
EXPERIENCE WITH COVID. AMELIA,
WELCOME.
WELCOME.
WELCOME. >> HELLO AND THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME.
HAVING ME. TODAY I'M GOING TO BE SHARING
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH
COVID.
COVID.
COVID. I
COVID. I WAS IN ICU IN MAY FOR THREE
WEEKS.
WEEKS.
WEEKS. DURING THAT TIME I HAD MY
DAUGHTER.
DAUGHTER.
DAUGHTER. WHEN I FIRST GOT SICK WITH
CORONAVIRUS I THOUGHT I WAS
JUST PREGNANT, OUT OF BREATH.
LITTLE DID I KNOW COVID WAS
TAKING OVER MY BODY AND MY
LUNGS WERE SHUTTING DOWN.
I WROTE SOMETHING HERE,
SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE
WITH YOU GUYS.
ESPECIALLY FOR MY AGE GROUP, I
FEEL LIKE A LOT OF US YOUNG
ADULTS, WE LIKE TO GO OUT WITH
OUR FRIENDS AND GO OUT TO
DINNER, AND WE TEND TO GET
CARELESS.
CARELESS.
CARELESS. WE, AS IN ADULTS NEED TO
ACTIVATE AND WAKE UP.
COVID ISRAEL, AND IT IS HERE TO
ATTACK OUR LUNGS.
EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO GATHER MY
BREATHING HERE.
BREATHING HERE. WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE A HARD
TIME ACCEPTING IT OR WE FALL
BEHIND THE PPE, WE NEED TO
ACTIVATE AND BE MORE AWARE THAT
THIS VIRUS KILLS.
CORONAVIRUS IS REAL AND I
PERSONALLY KNOW THIS BECAUSE,
LIKE I SAID, LATE MAY THROUGH
EARLY JUNE, OR JULY, EXCUSE ME,
I WAS IN THE ICU.
ALONE AND WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER,
WITHOUT MY FAMILY.
I WAS AROUND NURSES AND DOCTORS
, AND EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE
THERE BY MY SIDE I THINK
EVERYONE CAN AGREE THAT JUST
HAVING YOUR LOVED ONES AROUND
IS A WAY OF HEALING.
I CHECKED INTO ST. LUKE'S LATE
NIGHT BECAUSE I COULD NOT
BREATHE.
BREATHE.
BREATHE. MY BODY WAS SHUTTING DOWN AND
MY LUNGS WERE FAILING, AND I
DID NOT EXPECT TO BE FIGHTING
FOR MY LIFE FOR THE NEXT THREE
WEEKS.
WEEKS.
WEEKS. THE NEXT DAY I GAVE BIRTH TO MY
DAUGHTER, AND I KNEW I HAD TO
BE SEPARATED FROM HER DUE TO
THE PANDEMIC, AND INSIDE I CRIED
BECAUSE I WAS TOO WEAK TO CRY
ON THE OUTSIDE.
MY OB/GYN HELD MY DAUGHTER AND
I REMEMBER SAYING, IS THAT MY
BABY?
BABY?
BABY? AND
BABY? AND I LET OUT A TEAR.
INSTEAD, MY DAUGHTER WAS
REMOVED FROM MY ROOM, BUT NEVER
FOR MY SITE.
IT WAS INSTANTANEOUSLY THAT ALL
ST. LUKE'S FELL IN LOVE WITH MY
DAUGHTER. A FEW DAYS INTO MY
HOSPITAL STAY I FOUGHT FOR MY
DAUGHTER TO BE SENT HOME TO MY
MOM BUT LITTLE DID I KNOW, MY
DAUGHTER HAD ALREADY BEEN SENT
HOME, AND I HAD LOST THREE DAYS.
IT WAS A BLUR.
TWO WEEKS HAVE PASSED INTO MY
SEDATION AND I HAD NO IDEA I
WAS BEING FLIPPED OVER, FOR 16
HOURS ON MY BODY.
SOMETIMES WHEN I WOULD COME OUT
OF MY SEDATION I WOULD END UP
IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES LIKE
EAST ASIA.
EAST ASIA. I WOKE UP IN SOME STATES,
CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA, I EVEN
WOKE UP IN THE BASEMENT OF
ALBERTSON'S.
ALBERTSON'S. JUST A DELETE AREA, AND THE IS
LOOSE HALLUCINATIONS WERE
HORRID.
HORRID.
HORRID. I
HORRID. I WAS IN A DIFFERENT WORLD.■
HORRID. I WAS IN A DIFFERENT WORLD.■ç
PEOPLE HAVE THIS MISCONCEPTION
THAT, IN THE HOSPITAL, WE ARE
JUST CONNECTED TO A TANK.
NO, I WAS CONNECTED TO A
MACHINE ON THE WALL THAT WOULD
BREATHE FOR ME AT 15 L. IF
ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT
TANKS AND OXYGEN, 15 METERS IS
QUITE A LOT.
SO AGAIN, TO MY PEERS, I REALLY
HOPE YOU GUYS CAN UNDERSTAND
WHERE I'M COMING FROM AND KEEP
THIS SERIOUSLY.
THIS SERIOUSLY. I AM MUST LOST MY LIFE.
I AM, AS YOU CAN SEE STILL
DEALING WITH THE REPERCUSSIONS.
I HAVE NOT ABLE TO WORK, AND I
HAVE TO CARRY AROUND AN OXYGEN
TANK WITH ME WHEREVER I GO.
WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE HOSPITAL
MY MOTHER HAD TO BATHE ME.
SHE HAD TO DRESS ME, SHE HAD TO
BRUSH MY HAIR.
HELP ME WITH MY MAKEUP.
I COULD NOT WALK 10 STEPS
WITHOUT FEELING LIKE I WAS
GOING TO COLLAPSE.
AT NIGHT, IT SEEMS TO GET WORSE,
I DON'T KNOW WHY.
MAYBE IT IS BECAUSE OF THE
ACTIVITY, BUT WHEN YOU ARE
LEANING YOUR BED AT NIGHT AND
YOU FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IS
SITTING ON YOUR CHEST, AND YOU
DON'T KNOW WHY, YOU GO AND YOU
LOOK AT YOUR RECORDS TO SEE IF
THEY ARE KINGS, OR IF ANYTHING
IS IN YOUR WAY.
AND IT'S NOT, IT IS YOUR LUNGS
THAT ARE DAMAGED.
I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY OF MY
LOVED ONES OR ANYBODY ELSE OUT
THERE EXPERIENCE WHAT I GO
THROUGH OR WHAT I WENT THROUGH,
AND CURRENTLY IN DEALING WITH.
I WOULD LIKE TO PERSONALLY THANK
ST. LUKE'S AND ALL OF MY NURSES,
RACHEL, I KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING.
THANK YOU FOR REMOVING MY TUBE.
AND FOR TAKING CARE OF ME.
I HAVE WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY
MOTHER WHO IS THERE BY MY SIDE
THROUGH EVERYTHING.
THROUGH EVERYTHING. AND MY FAMILY.
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR
STICKING BY MY SIDE AND
UNDERSTANDING THAT I AM
HEALING.
HEALING.
HEALING. AND EVERYONE ELSE THAT IS
HAVING ME HERE, AND ANYONE
LISTENING TO THIS, I HOPE YOU
CAN REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS
IS