ATLANTA — Alex Knight said she has successfully recovered from COVID-19.
She tested positive for the virus after returning from a trip to Chicago around St. Patrick’s Day. Knight spoke with 11Alive about her symptoms and the effects of coronavirus.
While in Chicago, Knight said she lost her sense of taste.
“Nothing tasted right, but they hadn't announced that that was a symptom yet. So I didn't think anything of it," Knight said. "I thought maybe I'm just getting a cold or something. Then, I worked all day Tuesday. I didn't have a fever or anything. I felt fine. And then Tuesday night, towards the end of my shift, I started feeling really bad. I spiked fevers all night.”
For about 10 days, Knight experienced COVID-19 symptoms.
“I completely lost my sense of smell and taste, which was the weirdest thing. I had a cough and a fever. I had a sore throat. My strongest symptom was that I was so tired," she said. "And that lasted for like five days where I felt super achy everywhere.”
She also has underlying health conditions.
“I have asthma. So, I was actually really lucky to not end up hospitalized," she said. "I had shortness of breath and everything to the point where when I was having a conversation, I was getting winded just talking to people."
"I had an inhaler, so that helped a lot. And I just kind of rode out my symptoms and tried not to treat my fever as much as I could," she added. "Just to kind of let my body try to fight the infection. But I finally had to take some Tylenol.”
Knight said she started feeling better after eight days of experiencing symptoms.
“All of a sudden around, like, day 10 or 11 is when I just woke up and I felt completely normal - like nothing had happened,” said Knight, “I cleaned my house. I did yard work. I took my dogs for a walk. I was out in the yard playing with them like nothing ever happened.”
Having gone through the virus, Knight said she feels lucky she was able to stay out of the hospital and recover on her own.
“I feel great. I am really lucky. And going back to work, I see how lucky I am that it wasn't more serious for me,” said Knight.
Knight is back at work and feeling much better. She told us she still experiences shortness of breath, but attributes it to her asthma and the heavy pollen season.
“Being a nurse, I was super cautious. I wash my hands a million times. I wash down the train on the pane and everything. I sanitize my phone, my iPod, my headphones, everything as much as I could, and I still got it,” said Knight.
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