Coronavirus: New Paltz couple turn a corner, donate plasma

The nurse told Carol Lundergan that 620 milliliters of her plasma, a little under three cups, could save the lives of 1.5 people.

Between Carol and her husband, Edward Lundergan, they would be saving three lives, maybe more if they donate multiple times. 

"This makes me happy," Carol said. 

In the past two months, the New Paltz couple has tested positive for COVID-19 twice and been quarantined twice. In that time, there were moments when Carol struggled to breathe and thought she might die. 

But even after a negative test, Carol doesn't believe their bout with the infection is over.

There is still a lot that is unknown about COVID-19 and what defines recovery.

Recovery, or antibodies, may not mean the individual is immune from getting infected again. And of those who quarantine, most won't be tested after the 14-day period to determine that they are in fact clear of the virus, medical experts say. 

But for Carol and her husband, getting to the point where they could donate their antibodies was a milestone. 

The Lundergans were among the first group of confirmed coronavirus cases in Ulster County when Edward, a SUNY New Paltz professor, learned on March 19 that he tested positive. Two days later, his wife received similar news.

After a two-week quarantine, the couple decided to donate plasma.

On April 10, the couple drove to a coronavirus testing center in Kingston and were confident that, unlike the original test, their results would be accompanied by good news. However, that test came back positive. 

On Wednesday, the couple was finally able to donate plasma for antibodies at Vassar Brothers Medical Center after testing negative. And now they wait to find out if there are enough antibodies in their plasma for it to be accepted. 

"The only thing that we have now is this lingering pain," Carol said. "It's just exhausting. At the end of the day we're just pretty wiped out."

Recovery is not easily defined

"Now, what's been clearly established is we don't know if testing positive for for nucleic acid means that you have viable virus that can replicate and cause the disease," said Dr. A. K. Vaidian, commissioner of the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health.

Testing itself has been problematic with faulty testing kits, inaccuracies and the lack of available testing material. Early data showed that swab tests can result in less than 10% false negative. 

Even having tested positive the second time around may not have meant the Lundergans had the virus, or if they had remnants of it. It's also not clear if one of their subsequent sets of tests may have been inaccurate, or if they were still contagious.

"The problem is that we now understand, based on research, that people can actually still have the virus in them for a longer period of time than we thought," said Dr. William Begg, vice president of medical affairs at Vassar Brothers Medical Center. "They can still not show symptoms, but still have the virus."

Begg said new protocols are in place where health care workers and those who have essential jobs must be symptom free and tested twice after they come out of quarantine in order for them to go back to work. 

As counties begin to start opening up their economies, the hope is that everyone exposed to the virus will be able to be tested after being quarantined and the results determined faster. 

Yesterday, Ulster County County Executive Patrick K. Ryan stated Ulster County has "turned a corner" in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The county is showing 54 deaths and 1,482 confirmed cases. 

Earlier this week, Dutchess County announced it would begin the slow process of reopening its economy. As of May 8, the county had 96 COVID-19 deaths and 61 individuals hospitalized, with 951 patients having recovered. 

Even though the public is told to quarantine for 14 days if exposed to COVID-19, the length of recovery may depend on the severity of the case. For more severe cases, a quarantine could require up to two months. 

"This infection is not a 14-day thing for most people," Carol said. "You could have symptoms three, four, five, six weeks afterwards. You may get better for a while, and then get a recurrence. So even if you do feel better again,  I feel the safest thing to do is just to believe that you are still contagious."

And for the Lundergans, that means going on with normal life as we know it now, social distancing, washing hands and wearing a mask. 

Saba Ali: SAli1@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-451-4518.