Survivors look forward to ‘new normal’ after ordeal
“What do you do? You can’t just live life in fear.”
— Marianne Pivovarnik, of East Chicago
East Chicago resident Marianne Pivovarnik looks proudly at the ring she wears on her right hand.
It is a new ring, purchased in the fall to serve as a reminder of the ordeal the prior several months had been for her and her boyfriend, Carlyle Edwards. Pivovarnik was diagnosed with COVID-19 last spring. It was a month’s long battle against the disease that almost claimed her life. “I made it,” she said.
Pivovarnik, 63, does not know for sure where she contracted the disease last April. She expects that happened while she was on the job working for a Gary janitorial supply company.
While the company enacted prevention protocols, it was so early in the pandemic that much was still unknown. The company had access to valuable supplies at the time such as toilet paper, disinfectant, disposable gloves.
As word got out during shortages at regular retailers and grocery stores of the hard-to-find supplies, customer traffic into the shop more than tripled. She was working one day when she realized something was not right.
“I thought I was fatigued. I wasn’t feeling good,” Pivovarnik said.
She first thought she was worn down due to the higher volume of demand at work. She went to Community Hospital in Munster April 10 and was ultimately diagnosed with COVID-19. She was sent home, a move the couple said they did not approve of. She slept most of that day and through Easter Sunday.
By Monday her condition continued to deteriorate and Edwards brought Pivovarnik to St. Catherine Hospital in East
Chicago.
There Pivovarnik was intubated in the emergency room and transferred to the COVID-19 intensive care unit where she spent the next 10 days on a ventilator fighting for her life. She remained COVID-19-positive her entire hospital stay and beyond. She then spent another 10 days in the hospital working in the COVID-19 physical therapy unit trying to regain her strength.
Edwards was back home. Due to the virus, he was not allowed to visit other than a few video calls where hospital staff tried to let Pivovarnik see and hear him. He tested positive for the virus later that week, but was asymptomatic.
During that time, Edwards was contacted by Pivovarnik’s doctors and told he may soon have a decision to make in the
absence of any parents or siblings to determine her fate. The couple have shared a home for 16 years, making him her closest next of kin.
Reflecting on that phone call, Edwards “knew a decision would have to be made,” he said, fighting back the emotion. Pivovarnik has come a long way since then. He said he does not know what he would have done if the outcome was different.
Pivovarnik was able to return home after 21 days, still COVID-positive. She finally tested negative in late May. She received additional physical therapy at home in an effort to continue to regain her strength. After a point, the therapists could offer no more help. Her strength has not fully returned, she said.
Pivovarnik said she was finally about to go back to work June 15. Still, she is not back to her old self and her doctors say they do not know if she ever will be. The longer the symptoms persist, she has been told, the more likely they are to be permanent.
“If I push myself, the fatigue just kicks in really bad,” she said.
She continues to work to build her strength and stamina in order to more easily handle the 14 stairs in the couple’s home. Edwards said her personality has changed a bit as well. She no longer has the same level of patience, he said, and Pivovarnik agreed.
“The worst thing is the COVID fog. It’s real,” Pivovarnik said.
She can recall childhood memories with ease, but she has trouble remembering things that happened as recently as a few minutes ago, especially if she becomes distracted. The frustration can be difficult.
“I don’t know if it is because I know what I was able to do before,” Pivovarnik said, describing herself as an independent woman accustomed to doing things on her own. She was adventurous and loved to travel, especially on cruise ships.
“It’s frustrating,” Edwards said. “One of our biggest frustrations is the long-haul residual effects. That’s something we both have to deal with.”
Pivovarnik acknowledges the long-term effects she is suffering from are difficult for both of them, but they are doing their best to cope and return to as normal a life as possible.
“What do you do? You can’t just live life in fear,” Pivovarnik said. “I’m not going to give up my life. I can’t not stop living. I would love to cruise again. I don’t know if I will ever be comfortable doing that again. What is normal? What will be the new normal?”
The couple are slowly returning to previous activities like shopping and dining out. They continue to social distance and wear masks. They are both scheduled to get their COVID-19 vaccines.
“We will be ready to meet whatever the new normal is,” Edwards said.