‘It was like hot needle pricks in my lungs and under my ribs:' Miss. woman details battle with coronavirus

ALPINE, Miss. (WLBT) - A Mississippi mother details her family’s experience battling the Coronavirus.

Amy Benjamin said the virus first hit her family when her seemingly healthy 24-year-old daughter Katie, suddenly fell ill around March 23.

“She went from in a matter of hours of being her normal self and being a healthy 24-year-old to where she couldn’t breathe,” Benjamin said. “She literally could not breathe. She felt like she was moving oxygen but her ability to breathe was hampered.”

Benjamin called an ambulance, seeking medical attention for her daughter, and was told that based on Katie’s symptoms, it was suspected she had the Coronavirus.

Benjamin said she noticed symptoms in herself about a week later.

“I laid down one night and it was like pinpricks, that’s the only way I can describe it,” Benjamin said. “It was like hot needle pinpricks in my lungs and under my ribs. It didn’t hurt but it was very odd.”

The next day, Benjamin began to run a low-grade fever and decided to seek medical attention.

After a visit to a local hospital, she was tested and given medication for pneumonia, pain and other issues.

Benjamin said her test results came back positive for the Coronavirus.

Things took a turn for the worse the following day, Benjamin said the pinprick sensation she previously felt in her lungs intensified and she began to feel what she described as a burning sensation from the inside out.

Nearly two weeks after her initial visit and being on medication, she was hospitalized again after noticing her joints were swelling.

“I started noticing they were swelling up,” Benjamin said. “The bigger they would get, the redder they were.”

She had additional bloodwork and other tests done that revealed the Coronavirus was still active in her system.

She said the entire experience has created a new normal for her family over the past month.

“I went from being their momma that did everything and took care of everybody like we’re supposed to, to literally not being able to breathe enough to get out of the bed,” Benjamin said. “I had to focus. It felt like every bit of strength that I had to go towards me being able to breathe."

Benjamin’s 62-year-old father is also under the weather and she said there is a constant worry and concern looming over her family.

He’s been tested for the Coronavirus but his results have not come back yet.

Now that she’s on the road to recovery, Benjamin urges Mississippians to heed the safety precautions in place.

“This is the time right now to take everything happening as seriously as we possibly can,” Benjamin said. “Whether you’re a mom watching your child go through it, you’re going through it or you’re watching your dad go through it, it’s happening and it’s horrible. We all need to do our part. Regardless of what you think your part is, just do your part so we can limit how many people are suffering from this because it’s just not fair to them.”

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