“I was breathing in fire. I was burning inside. Blazing, excruciating fiery breaths…The thought of dragons but instead of breathing out flames, the flames roared inside me from the tip of my nose through my lungs.”

“I’m 26. I don’t have any prior autoimmune or respiratory conditions. I work out six times a week and abstain from cigarettes. I thought my role in the current health crisis would be as an ally to the elderly and compromised. Then, I was hospitalized for COVID-19.”

“I was a very healthy 46-year-old man. I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I’m not overweight. I eat healthily. Suddenly, I couldn’t walk one mile without gasping for breath. I was on an inhaler. I had a high resting heart rate, numbness in my feet, pains in my chest and abdomen. I could only eat oatmeal or toast or I’d get massive acid reflux.”

“Before getting COVID, I never imagined it would be this bad if I got it. When I tested positive, I still couldn't believe it. I was healthy and never had any pre-existing problems. It was said that if you are healthy, you wouldn’t get it. But, all that was a myth.”

“I used to go out every day after work like a normal 30 something. I can’t do that anymore because I suffer from regular, debilitating migraines.”

“I went from a healthy gym-enthusiast to a bed-ridden woman battling a deadly, infectious disease.”

After six months of debilitating COVID-19 symptoms, Chimére can’t go back to teaching her middle schoolers. But, she's found a new purpose: speaking up for Black women's healthcare.

"I was going downhill quickly and plasma turned me around."