Like many people, model Nastya Swan didn’t grasp the severity of the coronavirus crisis until she began suffering from its effects herself. Now that she’s on the other side of things, she’s taking responsibility and trying to help others by telling her story and donating plasma to those in need.
When did you first start exhibiting symptoms?
Around March 20, after dinner with friends, I started to feel sick and uneasy in a way I’ve never experienced before. At first I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something, but by the next morning I woke up with high fever, chills, and a kind of fatigue I still cannot explain.
So you hadn’t been self-isolating, up to that point. Why not?
I was very complacent about the pandemic and thought being young, I was invincible. Honestly, I brought this upon myself as I didn’t take the coronavirus seriously in the beginning. In early March, I didn’t read the news because I didn’t want to “stress myself out” and thought it’s something that happens to older people. As for me, I thought, “Even if I get it, I’ll be fine. It would be like getting the flu.”
So how exactly did the virus progress in you?
When I returned to NYC on March 15, I was reading about the exponential growth in the number of cases, but it still seemed farfetched and like something that couldn’t happen to me. Around that time, I started to have a high fever of 102/103 that wouldn’t go down like a normal fever does. Although I had chills and felt extremely tired, I became aware of the possibility that I may have COVID-19 when I lost my sense of taste and smell, as I had read about those being the telling signs. I could barely eat, and whatever I did eat tasted like water.
When several days went by and my fever wouldn’t subside, it was getting difficult to breathe and I felt tired, like I ran a marathon even though I had been in bed for days. On top of that, I started to have debilitating headaches, at which point I thought I wouldn’t make it out of this alive. Until then, I had waited to get tested, but then I rushed to my doctor and got tested. My fears were validated when the test finally came back positive.
Why did you wait to get tested?
It was not easy to get tested in the first place and there were a lot of older and sicker patients that were priority.
Several days into my sickness, when I came to a point that I felt like I was going to die, I consulted my doctor and finally got tested. I had to travel an hour and a half upstate, as that was the only available testing facility near me, and tested positive.
Are you symptom-free now?
One month later, I am finally symptom free.
Nastya Swan (Courtesy)
Are you alone or are you living with someone who can help you?
I’m with my boyfriend, who also had symptoms, but was not nearly as sick as me. That just goes to show how unpredictable this virus is and how seriously it has to be taken.
So are you still under quarantine?
I am still isolated and consider myself lucky to be in New York city where I have been able to get anything I need delivered to my door. I have so much respect and gratitude for all those essential workers who have been keeping the city running.
Do you think this experience has changed you in any way?
It has changed my core values to appreciate my family more, the people I love, and most importantly my health.
I appreciate nature more and don’t have the constant need to be living my life in the fast lane and not enjoying the present moment.
I am not foolishly complacent anymore and respect the guidelines we are being asked to follow to stop the spread of this virus.
I’m also working with my doctors on donating convalescent plasma in the hopes that it can save other lives.
What do you wish people would understand about this virus that they don’t?
If there is anything I can tell people to learn from my experience, it’s that this virus does not discriminate and there is no telling who it might affect gravely. It’s our duty to stay at home and do as much as we can to stop the spread while healthcare workers are going on the front-lines to save lives. No one is immune and you do not have to be old or have pre-existing conditions to get seriously ill.
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