BRYANT, Ark. — A Bryant woman is thankful she beat a brutal run with COVID-19.
"It was just a loopy day,” said Nancy Eason, a coronavirus survivor.
On Monday, March 23, Eason got sick with a headache, sore ears, and exhaustion.
Eason didn't think much of the symptoms because she's battled Lupus for years.
"Chronic fatigue is nothing new with Lupus. I thought it was that,” said Eason.
The following Friday, her condition worsened.
"It woke me up out of a dead sleep,” said Eason. "I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed. I came to peace with myself."
Doctors told Eason it wasn't a Lupus flare up, she had COVID-19 and a fight for her life began.
She experienced nausea and vomiting, fever, and shortness of breath.
"They didn't wait. They immediately dosed me up with Hydroxychloroquine,” said Eason.
Hydroxychloroquine is a drug of controversy right now, and Eason finds herself in the center of it.
She’s used the drug for her Lupus treatment.
President Donald Trump called the drug a game-changer and said it should be used to treat coronavirus, but health experts have cautioned against it.
Although it's been FDA-approved for other illnesses, it hasn't been for the coronavirus.
Eason told us she believes the drug played a role in saving her life.
"You know I think probably that did, with me having that already on board, it probably kept me off the vent,” said Eason.
There’s no official way of telling how Eason survived and others at high risk haven’t, but she’s using her story so others will take this pandemic seriously.
"Look in the eyes of a child. You can't tell me that's not worth giving up a trip to the mall,” said Eason. “This disease doesn't care who you are, what age, what race."