Hollister woman shares her months long battle with COVID-19

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION) Tiffany Wyrick said April and May passed by in a blur as she fought for her life in a hospital.

“Is this really happening? I’m going to die in the hospital alone,” Wyrick said.

Before Wyrick was diagnosed with COVID-19, she thought the virus would be like a regular flu.

Wyrick considers herself a health and active 47-year-old, but said her fight with the virus shows it can bring anyone down.

“This isn’t a one person fight or a political agenda. This is a virus, and it can take anybody,” the Hollister woman said.

Her symptoms started mild in late March, and then very quickly Tiffany was so exhausted she couldn’t even get out of bed.

“Couldn’t get up to go to the bathroom, had to wear diapers and couldn’t roll over to throw up.”

In the hospital, the 47-year-old had multiple seizures and even neurological problems to go along with serous chest pain.

“I don’t look like a person who could drop dead tomorrow, but I almost did because of coronavirus,” Wyrick said.

In a San Jose intensive care unit, Wyrick remembers seeing a woman near her die of COVID-19.

“She passed away, and then I watched them bag up her body and take her away,” Wyrick said.

Those are the horror stories here and across the country, as hospitals like Hazel Hawkins have worked on expanding intensive care units for the worst case scenario.

“We have a total of eight ventilators in our county for a surge," San Benito County spokesman David Westrick said. "Because our community is so small, sometimes we do have to lean on other communities, and other hospitals to send our patients to.”

San Benito County is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, but also in hospitalizations. There are currently four hospitalized with COVID-19 and two of the patients are in the ICU. The county's ICU capacity is typically just four.

The county hasn't had anymore than two COVID-19 patients in the ICU at any one time.