ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- An Abbotsford mom who contracted COVID-19 at a small family get-together has been released after a two-week stay in hospital that included seven days in the intensive care unit.
Denise Thompson, 33, said it started with her breathing.
"I couldn't breathe properly. I was sweating a lot. I had a really high fever. And then I ended up in the hospital," she told CTV News.
Although finishing her recovery at home, Thompson still has a persistent cough and difficulty breathing.
"I don't have a fever. I have a cough. They said I will still have a cough until my lungs heal," she told CTV News in a video call interview. "But the breathing is the hardest. So I'm on puffers. It's like steroids."
Thompson believes she caught the disease at a birthday party she hosted for her sister in late October.
At that time, small gatherings in private homes were still in compliance with provincial health orders.
But Thompson said a friend at that event knew a close contact of his had already tested positive for coronavirus, and should have been in isolation.
"He was fully aware that she tested positive for COVID and he still came out into the public," said Thompson, adding the friend didn't tell anyone about his possible exposure.
Thompson, who lives with her three- and 13-year-old children, hasn't worked since she started to feel unwell.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help her cover expenses while she continues to recover.
She's now urging others to follow the advice of health officials as closely as possible, so more people don't needlessly wind up in the ICU breathing through a tube, or even worse.
