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She got her coronavirus miracle, surviving 3 weeks in a coma. Then came the hard part.
When Karla Taylor-Bauman went home after 54 days in hospitals, including 21 days on a ventilator in an induced coma, she called her survival from coronavirus a miracle.
But miracles don’t come easy, the Lake Villa woman has found.
Four months later, she isn’t fully back to normal. She tires easily, can’t climb more than a handful of stairs and, still needing continued care, hasn’t been able to go back to her job as a financial adviser.
Having been so sick — after she got out, her doctor, Dennis McCreary, described her condition as having been “as close to brain dead as you get without being brain dead” — she knew recovery would take time.
Read the full story by Stefano Esposito here.
News
8:05 a.m. Gas tax hikes pile up: States become desperate for road repair revenue as COVID-19 reduces driving
Americans who want to stay socially distant during the COVID-19 pandemic now have another reason to think twice before going out for gas.
Several states have increased gas taxes in recent months to make up for sudden shortfalls in revenue devoted to road repairs.
As Americans drive less during the pandemic, due partly to social distancing and remote work arrangements, gasoline demand has fallen. That’s one key factor triggering the tax increases as lawmakers seek to limit the impact of lower revenue on road repair budgets.
7:15 a.m. Trump gets experimental drug aimed at curbing severe illness
The experimental antibody drug given to President Donald Trump has been called one of the most promising approaches to preventing serious illness from a COVID-19 infection.
Its maker, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., said the company agreed to supply a single dose, given through an IV, for Trump at the request of his physician under “compassionate use” provisions, when an experimental medicine is provided on a case-by-case emergency basis, while studies of it continue.
The new drug is in late-stage testing and its safety and effectiveness are not yet known. No treatment has yet proved able to prevent serious illness after a coronavirus infection.
6:15 a.m. Trump walks to Marine One, gives thumbs up on way to military hospital after testing positive for coronavirus
President Donald Trump appeared in public Friday evening for the first time since being stricken by COVID-19, boarding his Marine One helicopter for a flight to a military hospital as the virus that has killed more than 205,000 Americans spread to the highest reaches of the U.S. government.
The White House said the visit of “a few days” to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was precautionary and that Trump would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties.
Trump walked out of the White House and gave a thumbs-up but did not speak. Members of the aircrew, Secret Service agents and White House staff wore face coverings to protect themselves from the president onboard the helicopter.
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Analysis & Commentary
9:18 a.m. Cover ‘Trump gets COVID’ on your Disaster Bingo card
It’s terrible to be sick.
Even when you have good health insurance and the best medical care. Even when you’re the president of the United States. Even when contracting this particular illness reeks of karma, of payback, of divine justice, the way it does for President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, who announced early Friday they have tested positive for COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has killed a million people worldwide, including 206,000 Americans.
There will no doubt be a certain amount of gloating, of snide “thoughts and prayers” chortling. Guess that hydroxychloroquine didn’t do the trick after all, huh?
I can see why. Only Tuesday Trump was in full bore bullying mode at the first presidential debate in Cleveland, speaking over his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, insulting him and the rest of us.
But the quality that ties one hand behind the back of Democrats in this fight is our ability to empathize with other people, even bad people. And in truth I have always felt sorry for Trump, clearly a broken man, his ego so damaged it must be constantly stroked. Living proof that you can be rich, famous, powerful and still a pathetic excuse for a human being who just can’t stop talking, mostly about himself.
