Katie Corrado, 36, of Towamencin poses outside of her tent earlier this month.
Last week, we wrote about a nurse from Towamencin Township who had gone to extraordinary lengths to protect her family from exposure to the coronavirus, including spending her evenings and off-time in a tent on her back porch.
Now, her fears have been realized: 36-year-old Katie Corrado has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“This past Saturday, I felt like I got hit by a train. I figured I was just really tired from working so much,” said Corrado. “I woke up Sunday with what I thought was a horrible migraine; I realize now this was the onset of my symptoms.”
On Monday, Corrado joined more than 1,500 of her healthcare colleagues across the commonwealth in testing positive for COVID-19. She said it started with a headache, which then transitioned into a dry cough and fever and later widespread aches across her body and persistent shortness of breath.
Corrado had been working on the frontline of the pandemic as a nurse on the COVID floor at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in East Norriton, and as a prison nurse at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville. She’s also a member of the volunteer Medical Reserve Corps, where she was likely to be manning a field hospital in Philadelphia and a testing site in Norristown in the coming weeks.
But not for the time being.
“I feel half defeated, half relieved,” said Corrado. “I had a feeling this would happen. I look at every second I am sick as time lost from helping someone, and that’s the worst feeling in the world for a nurse.”
With the positive test, Corrado had to begin a week-long period of isolation as her body works to defeat the virus. She’s no longer in a tent, though, thanks to a kind resident who offered up their RV as a place for Corrado to stay during the pandemic.
“I was lucky enough for someone to lend me an RV. So, luckily I have been staying in that instead of the tent,” said Corrado. “The only thing I can do is rest and hydrate. I am in complete isolation.”
Despite the diagnosis, Corrado said she is eager to rejoin the fight and get back to her role. She said that so long as she completes the isolation period and is fever-free for 72 hours, she’ll be considered safe to return to work.
“I am working hard to get back to work,” said Corrado. “The hardest thing for me is knowing there are patients that need care while I’m down for the count.”
On the bright side, Corrado said catching the virus now most likely means that she’ll no longer have to live away from her 5-year-old son and her boyfriend, Chris.
“Now that I’ve had it, I believe there’s a fairly good chance I am immune to picking it up again, at least this season,” said Corrado. “Therefore my logic is, that even still treating positive patients, If I change out of my scrubs at work, bring them home in a closed bag and put them right in the wash, and get right into the shower myself, I will have washed all contact virus off me and won’t be possibly latently infected since I’ve been infected prior.”
“With these careful precautions, I feel safe moving back in, but I want to run it by a few people who know more about the virus than I do,” Corrado continued. “If all this hard work is for nothing and one of my guys gets sick, I will be so sad.”
In the interim, Corrado said she has all she needs, and she’s focusing on getting healthy. Additionally, she spoke glowingly of the response to the first article, saying that she was overwhelmed with messages and texts offering love and support from the community.
“So many people reached out to me, so many people offered to help, so many people brightened my day and kept me going. I can’t get over how amazing our community is,” Corrado said. “I could spend a full day telling stories of complete strangers who took time out of their day to show me they care. I can never thank these heroes enough.”
When asked if she had anything else to offer for this article, Corrado swiftly issued a stern reminder regarding ongoing social distancing and mitigation efforts.
“Please stay home! This is not a hoax, or ‘overblown.’ I’m living it,” Corrado said. “Our efforts are helping. Please stay strong and follow the rules! If you’re on the fence, just think of sick nurses like me who can’t see their babies.”
See also:
Local Nurse Spends Long Days In Coronavirus Ward, Cold Nights In Tent
Vehicle Parade Held For Towamencin Supervisor Battling Cancer
Gwynedd Square Nursing Center Confirms Multiple Coronavirus Cases, Deaths Among Residents
First Responders Show Support For Healthcare Workers At Lansdale Hospital: Photos
Employee Tests Positive For Coronavirus At Whole Foods On Bethlehem Pike
