Lackey recovering from COVID-19
Assemblyman was hospitalized in Palmdale for eight days
PALMDALE — Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, spent eight days at Palmdale Regional Medical Center being treated for COVID-19.
Lackey was hospitalized on July 5 for COIVD-19 complications. Lackey did not spend any time on a ventilator during his hospitalization. He is not certain where he might have contacted the virus.
“I have no idea,” Lackey said. “I was pretty careful, quite truthfully.”
The lawmaker followed safety precautions. He wore a face mask when he was around other people. He maintained social distancing. He washed his hands routinely when he touched other stuff.
“I was obviously not 100%, but felt I was pretty close,” Lackey said.
Lackey still contracted COVID-19 despite the precautions he took to avoid it. Fortunately, he did not pass it on to his family members.
He tested positive for COVID-19 about four days before he went to the hospital. That was when his test results came back. Lackey estimated he had COVID-19 for about a week before he I went to the hospital. “I actually felt bad enough that I had to go to the hospital,” Lackey said.
Lackey had no other symptoms other than a low-grade fever. When he went to the doctor, he had a headache. His doctor tested him for COVID-19.
Lackey did not think he had COVID-19, but he was wrong.
“I was angry because I knew that meant isolation,” Lackey said. “I wasn’t afraid of it. I was angry because
I knew that it just meant more isolation. I knew that I was expected to return to my job.”
The state Legislature was due to return to work at the time but delayed it after Lackey and another lawmaker were diagnosed with COVID-19.
Lackey is still recovering from the virus. He is weaker than he would like to be and his sleep is disrupted.
“There’s still a little bit of residual stuff,” Lackey said.
Lackey, a retired California Highway Patrol officer, cited other unexpected complications, such as an anxiety attack.
“Fortunately, I knew it was an anxiety attack,” Lackey said.
The experience gave him a better understanding of people who suffer from chronic anxiety.
“This virus is no joke,”
Lackey said.
Lackey suffered severe headaches from the virus. That was an intense experience for someone who does not normally get headaches.
“It’s pretty intense. It’s the worst that I can ever remember feeling,” Lackey said.
Lackey urged people who choose not to wear a face mask to reconsider their thinking.
“I can tell you this virus is not only real, it’s just a very, very difficult period of time for many people,” Lackey said.
Some people with the virus are asymptomatic, and so could spread the virus without knowing it.
“This is not just an inconvenient period of time; this is a very, very hurtful virus,” Lackey said.
Hundreds of people reached out to Lackey after it was announced he had COVID-19 to let the Assemblyman know they were praying for his recovery.
“I know not everybody is a person of faith but I happen to be one and I think that was a significant part of my recovery and I’m very thankful for those people,” Lackey said.