My COVID and Pneumonia Experience

My sister and I were both exposed to COVID. Her little ones were infected at school. While they remained asymptomatic, we were hit hard.

Almost every symptom listed for COVID, we had all at once. My sister is a healthy individual; I, on the other hand, have many health issues. COVID was a rough experience for us both.

While I felt awful, I did not experience FEAR until my chest started hurting, badly. I have a bad history of pneumonia. So that is exactly where my mind went.

I dealt with it for a day, then decided it would be best if I went to a local urgent care clinic. I wanted to prevent another ICU stay in the hospital.

Heading to urgent care for my COVID symptoms

I felt exhausted and it was very difficult to breathe. The first 2 urgent care clinics that I went to did not take my insurance. I was ready to give up and go home.

This was a day I badly needed my friend who helps take me to appointments. Luckily, one woman at the second urgent care took pity on me and told me which place would take my insurance.

To be honest, I was about to cry after the 2 denials. I was so close to going back home. It was the chest pain that pushed me forward.

Getting seen at the third clinic

Once I was accepted at the third urgent care, they were quick to take me in the back. We did a COVID test and a flu test.

After that, I spoke to the doctor. I explained my symptoms and my history of pneumonia. The doctor was great about sending me for a chest x-ray even though she did not hear anything by listening to my lungs.

Meanwhile, my sister chose to do an at-home test, which showed that she was negative for COVID. Despite this, we think she still had it since she even lost her sense of taste and smell.

A positive COVID result and pneumonia

The next day, I had a positive COVID result and pneumonia in my left lung. This meant I did not have COVID/viral pneumonia. Somehow, I managed to end up with COVID and bacterial pneumonia.

I started an antibiotic for pneumonia and scheduled an appointment to get the monoclonal antibody treatment. My sister also did the monoclonal antibody infusion.

Monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID

My sister and I went to different locations to receive the monoclonal antibody infusion treatment.

This is a treatment option to keep those who are mild to moderately ill from becoming worse and to keep them out of the hospital.¹

How the infusion treatment works

The process did not take long. The infusion lasted about 20 minutes and then they monitored us for an hour before we could leave. Educationally, the "monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made molecules that in this case mimic the immune system response to SARS-CoV-2."¹

I feel as though receiving this infusion treatment helped me manage COVID, although, I did come home and go straight to bed afterward.

My sister feels as though she did not benefit from the treatment, but she continued to work (from home) and deal with her kids, etc. The amount of rest could have made a difference in the effectiveness.

More to learn on HIV and COVID

While this article simply touched the surface, there is a lot to consider when it comes to individuals who are living with HIV and facing COVID.

Some say our daily antiviral medications assist in fighting COVID. Others have mixed emotions about the monoclonal antibody infusion treatment. This is a situation in which you need to do your own research and make your decisions based on that.

Have you had COVID? Did you do anything to treat it? Did you end up with bacterial pneumonia as well?

Please do not turn comments into a vaccine argument; this article is not about the vaccine.