Trio of Capital Region residents share unique coronavirus experiences

There is still a lot to be learned about the coronavirus and as the months have passed, more and more people are starting to share their unique experiences.

NewsChannel 13’s Jacquie Slater met with three different Capital Region residents who had three very different experiences with one common diagnosis.

Margaret Barry was diagnosed with coronavirus in July.

She’s pretty sure she picked the virus up at a small get together of friends, just eight people.

The group met the state’s guidelines for gatherings at the time.

Margaret says she lost her sense of taste and smell about a week later.

Margaret is part of that 80% the CDC and officials talk so much about.

That’s the percentage of people who have the virus with only mild to moderate symptoms. They treat it on their own at home, and fully recover in about two weeks.

Joel Kaplan, 79, was considered high risk for developing severe symptoms.

He contracted the virus while already in the hospital for a partial lung removal.

Kaplan says his fever never spiked too high. However, he experienced burning in his eyes.

The only symptom that was all-consuming was the nausea, which lasted for weeks.

From start to finish, Kaplan was in hospital care for 40 days.

He was never placed on a ventilator, and says he has no lingering side effects.

Some people who survive coronavirus report lingering side effects, sometimes severe. The term COVID long-hauler is used to describe these cases.

One of them is Maya McNulty of Niskayuna.

She was in a coma and on a ventilator for six weeks.

Six months after being diagnosed, she has a long list of ongoing side effects.

Maya initially thought she would have a six-month recovery period.

Now she’s beginning to think a full recovery might never be in the cards.