Family living coronavirus nightmare urges public safety

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Whether it’s a business with few masks being worn or people coming into your 6 foot social distancing space, you may have noticed a move away from coronavirus safety by some people out in public. While health officials believe that behavior is leading to a higher number of cases, we spoke with one family whose battle with the virus may change a few minds.

Remiah, who now lives in Florida, and his brother Seneca, who lives in Louisville have seen cases of coronavirus rising in their respective states in the past few weeks. Their message? Until there's a vaccine, everyone should stay on alert. That's because they didn't know if their mother, Marilyn, 61, would ever recover from COVID-19 after two long months in the hospital.

"With the symptoms she gave the doctor," Seneca explained, "they gave her a 30 to 50 percent chance of having COVID-19, so they told her to do a 14 day quarantine."

But seven days in, Marilyn couldn't breathe and her lips turned blue. Marilyn checked into Baptist Health in St. Matthews and tested positive for COVID-19, she was on a ventilator for more than 50 days. The brothers and their sister, Amber, could only Facetime into her room. Marilyn's twin sister, Carolyn, a nurse kept them updated.

"I was just speechless, you know, from what we were told beforehand, it's just you know, people as sick as my mother would not make it you know," Seneca said. "I wasn't ready to lose my mom yet."

Marilyn went through a plasma treatment but her family believes several doses of the drug Remdesivir made all the difference.

"We found out she was getting the treatment and it was like, we won the lottery," Remiah remembered.

Now dubbed "Miracle Marilyn," she had a big smile on her face when a photo was taken Monday in her rehab room at Kindred.

The family says Marilyn should be able to come home in a few weeks. They can’t thank doctors and nurses enough, and they also thank the community for all the prayers and support.