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This is from an article in the Parkersburg News last Thursday:
She's passionate about not blaming state officials for receiving the runaround, and at the heart of everything, she just wants the public to know as many facts as possible about the pandemic and what everyone can do to stay safe.
Still, when she looks back at the everything so far, she's ready to advocate for change to ensure her experience isn't shared by anyone else.
"I actually love the state, so I'm really not trying to point fingers or be negative about the government," she said. "But I 100 percent believe that they were ill prepared and it's almost like they didn't want to acknowledge that it could happen here.
"For whatever reason, there were so many barriers to get tested," she concluded. "And I want to get that fixed. I want to be able to help."
Here is the article:
Wife of man with coronavirus being tested
19 Mar 2020 — The Parkersburg News And Sentinel
Colin McGuire
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - When Carolyn Vigil of Shepherdstown speaks, it's soft, not like someone who has a cold or the flu, but someone wary of the world around her.
Someone looking for answers. Someone eager to educate.
That's because her husband, James, was notified Tuesday that he was carrying the first confirmed case of COVID-19 coronavirus in West Virginia.
Carolyn said Wednesday she was symptomatic as well and was to be tested for the virus at Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg in the afternoon.
"They said that I have to go to a tent behind the building to get tested," she said. "Right now, I feel a lot of fatigue. Just super, super tired."
The exhaustion that Vigil and her family has faced throughout the last five days would be a tall task for a healthy person, let alone one that may be carrying a virus that has crippled the world, killing more than 8,000 people.
It started Friday, when her husband was tested for the virus and was told to quarantine until the family received the results on Tuesday.
The problem? No one told Carolyn or James how they were supposed to get them.
Concerned not only for their health, but the safety of those with whom they came in contact over the last few weeks, Carolyn began calling places to find out what to do. She called the state health department, which told her to contact the county health department, which told her to contact the state health department.
"I won't say it was a circle of misinformation, but it was a circle of no information," she said. "One doctor told us that the test results were lost and my husband had to be retested, but then when we asked where we could get tested, they couldn't tell us. Eventually, the doctor called and said they found the test, but it wasn't viable.
"At one point, I had given up on West Virginia," she said. "The real struggle we faced was wading through where and how to get tested, and then finding out who has the authority to provide the test results. We have competent people in places working throughout the state, but there was no communication strategy in order to manage this."
Growing impatient to not only get her husband's test results back, but also get tested herself, Carolyn was prepared to drive to Virginia to get tested, all the while mulling ways to get her husband retested if need be. It was then that she received a phone call from Dr. Catherine Slemp, West Virginia state health officer.
"She said, 'No one has given you the results yet?'" Carolyn said. "I told her that we were told they were in a lab but unviable, and she said, 'Well, I have his results right here.'
"When she told me that he was the first case in West Virginia and there was going to be a press conference, I was like, 'Where am I? The Twilight Zone?'" Carolyn said.
From there, the Vigils compiled a list of everyone they've been in contact with over the last three weeks. Outside of traveling to get tested Wednesday, Carolyn and her family are staying quarantined for as long as needed. She speaks through coughs, she stresses that the public's safety is paramount to why she's speaking out.
As for how she feels, one of the main affects that both she and her husband have been experiencing is fevers - hers as high as 101 degrees and James's as high as 104 degrees. They come and go, which she said is one of the main differences between what she's currently experiencing and what she considers a regular flu to be. The fevers break, she said, but then they come back. The headaches are abnormally bad, and chest congestion is the most uncomfortable aspect of how both she and her husband feel.
Above all else, though, it's the fatigue. Fatigue from the illness, fatigue from the last five days. She's passionate about not blaming state officials for receiving the runaround, and at the heart of everything, she just wants the public to know as many facts as possible about the pandemic and what everyone can do to stay safe.
Still, when she looks back at the everything so far, she's ready to advocate for change to ensure her experience isn't shared by anyone else.
"I actually love the state, so I'm really not trying to point fingers or be negative about the government," she said. "But I 100 percent believe that they were ill prepared and it's almost like they didn't want to acknowledge that it could happen here.
"For whatever reason, there were so many barriers to get tested," she concluded. "And I want to get that fixed. I want to be able to help."
Announcement: This thread is to be the ONE place for discussion of the Corona Virus in West Virginia. I have made this thread a "Sticky" thread so it will stay at the top of the forum. Once this crisis has subsided, we'll revisit the issue and see what we should do then.
Huntington council considering proposed pandemic relief package
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Members of Huntington’s City Council are considering a proposal from Huntington Mayor Steve Williams to lift some city taxes and fees for residents, retail businesses and restaurants during the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.
The Huntington COVID-19 Relief Package was scheduled to be taken up during Monday’s 7:30 p.m. meeting.
As proposed, residential refuse fees would be lifted for April, May and June in Huntington and, during the same three-month time period, retail establishments and restaurants would be exempt from city business and occupation taxes.
A Jackson County man caught COVID-19 from having heart surgery at Camden Clark in Parkersburg in early March. He is on the road to recovery now. But it was in WV much earlier than people first thought.
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Mon County Corona Virus Stories
