MADISON, Wis. – While older adults and those with underlying conditions are at the highest risk for COVID-19 complications, the virus doesn’t discriminate.
Cassie Laufenberg of the Town of Dane had no idea how quickly her normal life could be pulled out from under her.
“You don’t have to have an underlying condition to get as sick as what I did,” Laufenberg said.
It started small in early October, when she had a scratchy throat and a bit of a cough. She couldn’t predict that a week later she’d be sick enough to go the emergency room.
“I was experiencing really shortness of breath,” Laufenberg said. “I couldn’t say my name. I couldn’t say my phone number.”
Thank you to Cassaundra for sharing your story. Cassaundra is a 29 year-old Dane Co. resident who had no underlying…
Posted by City of Madison, Wisconsin Government on Monday, November 16, 2020
She first went to the Sauk Prairie Healthcare hospital, before being taken by ambulance to SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison.
“I was really scared,” Laufenberg said. “I didn’t want to go to Madison, because my whole family works at the Sauk hospital and everything, so I really felt comfortable there.”
When she got to St. Mary’s intensive care unit, she asked the doctor if she was going to make it.
“She looked at me in the eyes and was like, ‘I don’t know. We’re going to do everything in our power, but I can’t tell you that,’” Laufenberg said. “That’s when the tears started rolling down my face.”
The questions came flowing, too.
“Where are my girls, my dogs, going to go?” she said. “What about my life I’m just starting with Nick? My mom? My work? My best friends?”
All the things Laufenberg loves in life were far away as she sat in the ICU for a week.
“I was fighting, it felt like by myself,” she said. “I didn’t have anyone in the room with me, just me.”
After receiving treatments, including convalescent plasma, Laufenberg spent another week on the COVID floor.
“The doctor there told me a couple times that there were a few times I was close to dying,” she said.
Now that she’s finally home with her boyfriend and dogs, she’s uncertain what her future will look like.
“My lungs are still very damaged. I’m on oxygen,” Laufenberg said. “The doctors don’t know what long term effects this has on my body.”
She described her experience on Facebook, and the post has more than 1,000 shares. She said her main message is asking everyone to wear a mask.
“This virus is serious. It’s not a hoax,” Laufenberg said. “You just don’t know who it’s going to affect and how it’s going to affect somebody, and that’s what’s so scary about this virus.”
Laufenberg credits the convalescent plasma treatment with saving her life. She encourages anyone with COVID-19 antibodies to donate blood plasma, which is in short supply in Wisconsin.
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