‘Not a death sentence.’ How SLO County woman recovered from coronavirus

If her sister hadn’t tested positive for coronavirus, Arroyo Grande resident Kristin Alexander said she would have thought she had just come down with a bad cold.

Alexander, 50, tested positive for coronavirus March 24 — a day after her sister.

She is one of the 65 residents in San Luis Obispo County who have since recovered from COVID-19 as of Sunday.

As of Sunday, another 25 patients were still recovering at home and four were hospitalized, with three in the intensive care unit, according to the county Public Health Department.

One county resident has died from the virus, according to ReadySLO.org.

“I pretty much knew I was going to be positive when they tested me and I sort of sat on pins and needles wondering to what extent the symptoms would progress,” said Alexander, who lives with her sister. “I was nervous, for sure nervous.”

Alexander, a fitness director, said she has asthma and is a cancer survivor so she was worried about how the virus would affect her.

However, she credits her healthy lifestyle to helping her recover quickly.

While Alexander did not exercise when she was ill, she said, she drank lots of water and listened to health officials’ advice.

Throughout their illnesses, she said the County Public Health Department called her and her sister every day to check on their symptoms and answer their questions.

Alexander said she was told to self-isolate and the county asked all people who had been in recent contact with her to self-quarantine as well.

Luckily, Alexander said, she and her sister had enough supplies and groceries to get them through their isolation.

While she and her sister both tested positive, her 22-year-old niece who lives with them showed no symptoms. They are unaware of how her sister contracted the virus, Alexander said.

“We don’t have any clear cut answers to where she obtained it,” Alexander said.

Alexander said that, for the most part, her and her sister’s symptoms were mild.

Alexander had a fever for about a day and developed a cough and shortness of breath about a week after being diagnosed. However, the symptom that affected her the most was extreme fatigue.

“Getting up and walking across the house was an effort, “ Alexander said.

One day she would feel fine, and the next she would be tired, she said. So, she took it day by day.

“I decided to just try to handle it each day at a time and not let myself get crazy about it,” Alexander said.

“I’m pretty adept to not letting myself freak out completely,” the cancer survivor added.

Alexander’s sister had recovered as of March 29, and Alexander had recovered as of March 30.

Now that she has recovered, she said she is easing back into exercise and her daily routine.

“I’ve seen from everyone around me this debilitating fear and this expectation that if you get this disease, you’re going to be on a ventilator and ... I think there are plenty of people recovering at home,” Alexander said.

Alexander said she is fortunate to already be in the clear and hopes to ease the worry of some people who have contracted the virus.

“I’m doing well and I think that’s a little bit of hope out there, it’s not a death sentence,” she said.