BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The sisters of a medical resident now battling COVID-19, want others to learn from their family's situation.
"Adeline's case is clear proof that this can hit you hard," said Adeline's sister Natalie Fagan.
Adeline Fagan was diagnosed with COVID-19 about a month ago. She graduated from UB's Jacobs School of Medicine last year. She is now a second year OBGYN resident in Houston. On July 8th she went in for a 12 hour shift in the ER, her sister Maureen Fagan said she later started to feel sick.
“She went into work you know feeling really well, and by the mid-morning she just felt like she was getting a headache, and just wasn’t feeling right," Maureen said. "And by the time she came home that evening, she was just sore all over, splitting headache, and started to have difficulty breathing.”
A week later, Fagan was admitted to the hospital, after multiple treatments and a ventilator, she still wasn't getting enough oxygen. She's now on an ECMO machine.
“Now it’s a waiting game, and that’s whats really frustrating and scary about this whole thing,” Maureen said.
The Syracuse family said they appreciate the support from Fagan's medical school friends and professors.
“We receive messages everyday from people that live in Buffalo, saying I attended UB Med. School with her, I’m no longer in contact with her but I’m sending her well wishes," said Natalie.
The sisters are sending a message of their own, urging people to do their part in keeping the virus from spreading. They want Fagan's journey with COVID-19 to be a lesson for others.
“There are many people out there who do not think they will get sick if they are young, or they don’t believe they need to wear a mask, they don’t believe they have to social distance, and they think that it's not as serious as everyone's making it out to be, but Adeline's case is clear proof that this can hit you hard,” Natalie said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for medical expenses and travel expenses from New York to Texas.
