COVID-19 survivor shares experience with the virus

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - It’s been seven months since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Alabama, and of course, thousands more have been reported since then.

One Alabama woman not only battled COVID-19, but she did so while pregnant.

“Actually, I didn’t even know I had it. I was kind of asymptomatic somewhat. Initially it started out like my sinuses, which is what I thought it was,” said Sasha Jackson.

Sasha Jackson was six months pregnant back in June when she started taking medicine to relieve the symptoms.

It seemed to be working, at first.

“But then I noticed I started coughing and it was like this persistent cough and I was like, ‘man, this done turned into a cold,’” Jackson explained.

She said she was feeling a bit fatigued, but since she didn’t have a fever or shortness of breath, she chalked it up to the pregnancy.

It wasn’t until she went into pre-mature labor that she found out otherwise.

“But I could just see it all over his face and he was like, ‘Ms. Jackson your COVID test was positive,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ And he was like, ‘Actually… you know I have to go home and the other nurses and doctors, they have to go home too because they were all exposed,’" Jackson explained.

Jackson would spend the next few days in the hospital before being discharged without her daughter.

A month and half later, she would finally get to bring her home.

Jackson admits she didn’t take COVID seriously in the first few months of the pandemic, but now she’s a believer.

“Wear our mask when we go out in public, don’t be around large groups of people, wash your hands, and just be mindful and just be cautious and take it serious,” Jackson advised.

Jackson said she’s made a full recovery and thankfully didn’t pass the virus on to her daughter.

She said she was able to pump and give her baby breast milk while she was in the hospital and she says that was good for her because she was also able to pass on some antibodies.

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