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Nedra Brown |
With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, a GCCCD employee agreed to share her experience with the illness.
As she slowly recovers from her bout with COVID-19, Nedra
Brown has a message for anyone who doubts the seriousness of the virus.
“Even if you do not know someone who has been affected, the
virus is real,” said Brown, Associate Dean of Athletics at Grossmont College.
“The symptoms are real. It’s not something I would want anyone to go through.”
Brown says she was careful. She has been working from home and
only had limited contacts except for trips to the grocery store. When she woke
up one morning in November with flu-like symptoms, she was relieved when they
went away after she took some pain medication.
About a week later, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Brown
was still feeling a little achy when she noticed she had lost her sense of
smell. Even a body spray and a strong household disinfectant had no scent for
her. Brown was tested for COVID-19 the next day, and learned she was positive.
“I just broke down. I cried and cried,” she said. “I just
could not believe it. I felt sad and embarrassed and angry and scared.”
She immediately isolated herself from the others in her
household – her sister and her elderly mother, who is at-risk with cancer. None
of the people she had been in contact with tested positive for COVID-19, and
Brown still isn’t sure how she got the virus.