LOCAL

Coronavirus: In 14 days New Paltz patients had 'frightening moments,' see progress

Stephen Haynes
Poughkeepsie Journal

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Struggling to breathe and experiencing a coughing bout worse than any she had ever dealt with, Carol Lundergan called her primary care doctor.

She had been diagnosed with COVID-19 four days earlier.

As she described her symptoms last Wednesday, the doctor noticed the 60-year-old had difficulty completing sentences before tailing off to gasp for air. She was told to get to an emergency room immediately.

Carol Lundergan was driven from New Paltz to Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie by her husband, who wasn’t allowed to accompany her inside. Edward Lundergan, too, has COVID-19.

Edward and Carol Lundergan, of New Paltz, pose for a selfie during a baseball game.

After X-rays and a battery of tests, it was revealed that Carol Lundergan had ... nothing out of the ordinary. For a patient enduring the coronavirus, that is.

“I was there for five or six hours and they did all kinds of blood work,” she said. “My oxygen saturation was fine and the blood cultures didn’t show a secondary infection. There was no actual reason for why I felt so terrible that day. It’s just the quirkiness of the virus.”

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.

The couple has been quarantined inside their New Paltz home for more than two weeks as they’ve endured the symptoms which, Edward said, “comes in waves.” Neither is out of the woods yet, of course, but both have made significant progress in the last few days.

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“I don’t feel like I’m dying anymore, and Ed isn’t too bad,” Carol said. “I have my moments where I do still get scared, but both of us probably had relatively mild cases of it. It will take a while, but I think we’ll make full recoveries.”

Their improvement is a great relief to their three children with whom they have spoken to frequently during the ordeal.

The mandatory two-week quarantine period is up but, Edward said, their doctors and the Ulster County Department of Health and Mental Health have instructed them to remain in the house until they have been free of any symptoms for at least 72 hours.

Once they are allowed outside, Edward said, he likely will limit his trips only to the supermarket, keep a significant distance from others, and “probably” will wear a mask and gloves.

Ulster County had 221 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Wednesday, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office, and three deaths. Twenty-four of the cases are in New Paltz, according to the county.

Thus far, Edward said, there have been 14 positive tests among SUNY New Paltz students and staff.

Fortunate feelings despite diagnosis

The Lundergans believe themselves to be among the fortunate thus far, particularly after a 49-year-old New Paltz man died Tuesday from complications of COVID-19.

They don’t know the victim but, Carol said, there is an unavoidable feeling of “survivor’s guilt.”

“I haven’t heard details about it, so I don’t know if he had any underlying medical conditions,” Carol said. “But that man was only 49. I’m almost 61. Why am I surviving it and that poor guy didn’t? The virus is so capricious.”

Edward Lundergan and his wife, Carol, pose together. Edward, a SUNY New Paltz professor, was diagnosed on March 19 with coronavirus.

Carol said she sometimes scours social media to read the accounts of others who have contracted the virus. She has read online stories of people who survived and felt well, only for the symptoms to reappear several days later.

That, she said, “scares the hell out of me.”    

The number of confirmed cases reached more than 83,000 in New York on Wednesday and the global death toll has topped 45,000. Medical experts have warned the virus could claim as many as 240,000 lives in the United States.

“We’re lucky enough to be getting through it, we think, but it’s frightening hearing those kinds of numbers,” Edward Lundergan, 64, said. “I trust the world will pull through this, but it’ll be a long road.”

Symptoms worsen at night

Carol still has coughing spells, which worsen at night, and there is a feeling of lethargy. She has experienced more respiratory symptoms than Edward, which she figures can be attributed to her being asthmatic. 

There is shortness of breath and chest congestion on most mornings, she said, “as fluid builds in the lungs overnight.” But hot showers in the morning and warm drinks throughout the day, she said, provide some temporary relief.

Carol runs a software company and said she has been able to do “a little work” this week.

Edward said he still occasionally runs a low fever, but his temperature hasn’t reached 100 degrees in more than a week and the coughing has mostly subsided. He still is dealing with fatigue and soreness but, he said, he is worlds better than he was two weeks ago when there was an overall malaise.

He has continued to work throughout the quarantine as SUNY New Paltz dismissed students on March 13 and ordered the spring semester be completed online. The music professor has been uploading course materials and grading assignments. One of his courses, a conducting class, requires visual demonstration and he recently was able to host a session via video conferencing.

Community support

As word of their positive test spread, Edward said, several students reached out and offered kind words. Community members have made offers to shop for groceries and run errands for them, and some have dropped off prepared meals. 

Since sharing their story in the Journal two weeks ago, Edward said, the couple has received an outpouring of support and well wishes on Facebook. 

A neighbor even left inside their mailbox a pulse oximeter. It’s a small device that fits over the finger and measures oxygen saturation levels. The Lundergans have been told that if their oxygen levels drop below 90%, they should get to a hospital. But, Carol said, her reading has been as high as 98%.

“We’ve lived in the area for a long time and we have friends, but there has never been a situation like this where we’ve needed help,” said Edward, a Massachusetts native who moved to New Paltz in 1993. “It’s heartening to see that kind of reaction. Once we’ve recovered, we’ll try to pay it forward and help the next group of people who need it.”

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4826, Twitter: @StephenHaynes4