FLINT, Michigan—Army veteran, teacher, mother, and first-lady of The Landmark Fellowship Church, Jamillah Lynn, 44, became one of the estimated 42 percent of black, Genesee County residents to contract Covd-19. Now she sharing her story in hopes that those who have not experienced the virus, will face the pandemic with consideration and gravity.
“It was said that symptoms of Covid-19 were a cough, difficulty breathing, and a high fever. I didn't have any of those. Instead, I believe I had the flu,” said Lynn in an email. “I first started having symptoms on or about March 16.”
Lynn remembered having come into contact with someone who had expressed having flu-like symptoms, which led Lynn to believe that she too had the flu. But as the days went on, Lynn recalls enduring extreme discomfort, unlike anything she had experienced before, where her only pre-existing conditions included intense migraines.
“After five days I couldn’t bear it anymore, I was like something is wrong,” said Lynn in a May 26 Facebook Live interview with Flintside. “So I called my doctor and she asked me to come in and they did a swab in my nose, which I didn’t know that’s how they tested for the flu. Come to find out later that’s how the test for Covid -19.”
Watch the full Facebook Live interview below:
Lynn went home in wait for the results of the test—which she would never receive— and her condition continued to worsen. After ten days, on March 26, she knew she needed to go to the hospital and was admitted to Ascension-Genesys on Saturday, March 28. Upon arriving, the only thing Lynn says she remembers is doing the intake questions, after that everything went dark.
“In my mind, I kept thinking I was somewhere (perhaps kidnapped) and people were using me as a guinea pig or something. I had no idea where I was and how I got there,” said Lynn. “My memory came back in bits and pieces. Little by little, I remembered my name and that I had a husband. Then, I remember I had children, my birthday and all the questions they asked me. I didn't know I had been in the hospital so long. I opened my eyes nearly 2 weeks later and couldn't believe I was alive. I felt I had experienced death.”
Lynn would be discharged from Ascension Genesys hospital Saturday, April 11, and transferred to Medilogde of Frankenmuth, a rehabilitation center, to regain her motor skills and functions. Though even after she was discharged from the facility on Tuesday, April 28, speaking and swallowing is still a work in progress said Lynn.
Now she is back home, happy to be under the one roof with her loved ones, despite the ensuing complications that the pandemic has brought.
“From the outside looking in, it looks rather ugly, to say the least. I am currently not working and my husband is still fighting to receive his unemployment as they have not yet been called to return to work. We have 2 car notes, a mortgage on our home and our church, as well as payments for utility bills on both buildings, and a total of 6 mouths to feed. Since our children are not in school, our utility and food spending has increased. So, financially, I can truly say that we have been blessed to endure this pandemic. Various people have made monetary, food, and other donations.”
They continued to be supported by their community and Lynn is looking forward to the day when the pandemic clears and she can return the favor.
Watch the full interview above to hear Lynn’s full story, hopes, and outlook on the pandemic.
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