James

Oct 13

“One night I laid down and I couldn't get up the next morning. I couldn’t move nothing.”

This is part of a series on Grace Heights Health and Rehabilitation — which had over 40 residents and 35 staff members test positive for COVID.

MORGANTON, NORTH CAROLINA: I grew up right here in Burke County. I graduated from Highland school in 1966 and went to watchmaking school. I worked in Winston-Salem town jewels for 25 years. Then I came here to Morganton and I've been here ever since.

End of January I wasn't doing nothing. I was just sitting at the house really. One night I laid down and I couldn't get up the next morning. I couldn’t move nothing. That's when I told mama to call the ambulance.

I went to the hospital and they gave me a thorough check. They didn't know what was going on. Finally, they said I had pneumonia and fluid in my left side. I had an operation there where they drilled a hole in my back to take the fluid out of my lungs. I was in ICU for about two weeks.

I have polio so I was walking on crutches until this happened. Now, I can't even walk. I don't know what's wrong. I told my mother I was going to a rest home since I can’t walk and I've been here ever since.

That's when I caught the virus. I got sick one night. It was an awful feeling. Believe that. I lost consciousness and everything. I didn't know if I was going or coming really, but I never gave up. I was worried. I was scared. I kept asking, "What's wrong with me?" I didn't know if I was going to live or die. Nobody knew. I just kept fighting. After a three week fight I started to feel better. Now, I’m learning to walk again.

MORE SURVIVORS FROM GRACE HEIGHTS

“Until you've gone through it or saw somebody go through it, you have no idea.”

“Other people my age in this community say it’s fake and that people are trying to make it seem way worse than it actually is. Working as a receptionist at Grace Heights, I saw how many people were dying and that made me take it more seriously.”

“I'm old enough to remember the polio epidemic. I must have been six or seven years old. We had it really bad in Caldwell County and I have relatives who are still paralyzed from it. I was very young, but I do remember schools being closed, which was a big thing.”

“Compared to MS, my COVID experience is nothing. I've had a cold that was worse. It was just an inconvenience.”

“For me, it is a mindset. This is what I'm doing and this is what I signed up for. So, I'm going to continue with it.”

“I had the symptoms, but I didn't have the battle.”

“I wasn't that sick. I just wasn't feeling the best.”

“We've seen a lot of death, more than what I expected. I know people die in this population, but it came so fast and furious. It wasn't what I was expected.”

“One night I laid down and I couldn't get up the next morning. I couldn’t move nothing.”

“There's a very low percentage of facilities that would accept COVID patients from the hospital. At a time like this, I feel like it's our duty as a healthcare provider to provide these people a safe place when others won't and we will continue to.”

Grace HeightsPolioSeniorNorth CarolinaCOVID-19Pre-Existing Conditions

Administrator

James

Melissa

John