She was 'close to death' fighting COVID-19 and wants people to take it seriously

Craig Lyons
Lansing State Journal

LANSING – Hearing people say COVID-19 isn’t that bad makes Jeannine Thelen angry.

It’s unfathomable to her that some people don’t think the coronavirus is real.

She wishes people understood and believed the coronavirus isn't like the seasonal flu. She wishes they could go to an intensive care unit and see patients struggling to breathe and medical staff unable to keep up.

“People need to know this is nothing to mess with," she said.

Thelen, 68, of Lansing, knows the damage the virus can do.

Jeannine Thelen on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at her home in Lansing. Thelen was Sparrow Hospital's first COVID-19 patient and spent 55 days in the hospital and a month on a ventilator fighting the virus.

She spent 55 days at Sparrow Hospital, a month of that time on a ventilator so she could breathe. Nursing staff referred to her as “Alpha One” because she was the hospital’s first COVID-19 patient. Thelen was also among the first confirmed cases of the virus in Ingham County when she walked into Sparrow's emergency room on March 15.

Thelen had no underlying conditions. Just days earlier she had been walking the beach on South Padre Island, Texas, swimming, playing pickleball and doing water aerobics.

“I was healthy and it hit me,” she said.

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Her husband, Larry, and her daughters and grandchildren were not allowed to visit her in the hospital. Doctors and nurses not only couldn't promise the family she would get better but they were noncommittal on whether she would survive.

More than a quarter of a million people in Michigan have contracted the virus and more than 8,000 people have died, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Nationally, more than 11 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus and in excess of 200,000 have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jeannine Thelen, right, and her husband Larry photographed on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at her home in Lansing. Jeannine was Sparrow Hospital's first COVID-19 patient and spent 55 days in the hospital and a month on a ventilator fighting the virus.

Eight months after walking into Sparrow, and six months into her recovery, Thelen said she’s grateful she was able to pull through. She knows thousands of others weren’t as lucky.

“I was so close to death,” she said.

'I was in bad shape'

In early March, Jeannine and Larry had just returned to South Padre Island from a nephew’s wedding in Idaho. The island is an annual winter location for the couple, who call Michigan home.

The next day she had a cough.

“It kind of got worse and then Larry started getting sick,” Jeannine said. “We didn’t know what it was.”

Jeannine Thelen shows a picture from April of herself connected to a breathing machine while in the hospital battling COVID-19 on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at her home in Lansing. Thelen was Sparrow Hospital's first COVID-19 patient and spent 55 days in the hospital and a month on a ventilator fighting the virus.

Jeannine and Larry were so sick they hardly went outside that week. Jeannine was exhausted and slept through the couple's last days in Texas. She struggled to pack her bags to come home to Michigan on March 10.

The normally three-day drive took them four. Both Jeannine and Larry were tired.

They didn’t unpack the car when they arrived in Lansing; instead they went to bed. The next morning, Jeannine called her doctor and was told to go to the hospital immediately. When she arrived at Sparrow, the staff was expecting her.

“The ER nurse knew when I got in I was in bad shape,” she said.

55 days at Sparrow

Jeannine’s oxygen levels were drastically low and doctors put her on a ventilator just hours after she walked into the hospital. Her body fought the ventilator.

“It just went downhill from there,” she said.

Jeannine has no memory of what happened beginning from her first few hours in the hospital until more than a month later. The nurses later told her about her treatment. Her daughter, Kate, kept a journal with notes on her condition that the family received via telephone updates.

Jeannine was sedated, at one point was septic, suffered a stroke and medication that pulled blood from her arms and legs killed the tissue on the tips of her fingers.

Nurses told her weeks later they went home at night not knowing if she’d be alive when they returned the next day, she said.

Larry said he didn’t know everything that was going on. He relied on the staff for updates as visitor restrictions prevented him from going to the hospital.

“That’s the hardest part,” Larry said.

Larry said he called the hospital every three hours while she was in ICU as her condition changed quickly. 

“Those nurses were my lifeline,” Larry said.

Her family didn’t know what news the next phone call would bring.

“It must have been hell,” Jeannine said.

Jeannine Thelen waves to staff as she is treated to a parade in the lobby after being discharged as Sparrow Hospital's first COVID-19 patient on Friday, May 8, 2020, in Lansing.

Because she was the hospital's first COVID-19 patient, the staff called other facilities to see how they were treating COVID-19 patients, Jeannine said.

More:'It's a miracle she didn't die.' After 55 days in hospital, Sparrow's first COVID-19 patient goes home

By mid-April, the doctors and nurses began weaning her off the ventilator but were hesitant because she had been on the machine for a month.

Jeannine remembers being awake enough once to know she was drooling a bit. She felt bad about it.

“When I started to get better, I got better quick,” she said.

Before she could leave, Jeannine had to complete two weeks of rehabilitation, focusing on occupational, physical and speech therapies.

The doctors and nurses told her it was a miracle she pulled through. 

The long road to recovery

When Jeannine got home from the hospital on May 8 she could only walk about 50 feet with a walker, or climb four steps. She said she’s lucky the entrance to her home has just three steps.

She had difficulty speaking.

“My voice was barely a whisper,” she said.

She sat on the couch but couldn’t lift her legs to cross them. Her legs didn’t have the strength to hold her up when she’d get out of bed.

Jeannine Thelen talks about almost losing her thumb and fingers while she battled COVID-19 in March on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at her home in Lansing. Thelen was Sparrow Hospital's first COVID-19 patient and spent 55 days in the hospital and a month on a ventilator fighting the virus.

Progress was slow. At first, it was short walks down to the beach at their cottage near Traverse City on Memorial Day weekend. By August, she could walk three miles in roughly an hour after completing two more months of therapy.

Throughout the summer, Jeannine eyed the stand-up paddleboards she and Larry keep at the cottage. She wondered if she even still had the balance or strength to get on one.

She completed her outpatient therapy by July 4 and continued the exercises on her own.

Jeannine watched the water over the waning days of summer, waiting for a calm day as the lake typically always has a few waves.

“I thought, 'I’m going to give it a try,'” Jeannine said. “I said, ‘Larry, let’s see if I can paddleboard.’” 

Jeannine Thelen, right, and her husband, Larry talk about Jeannine's battle with COVID-19 on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, at her home in Lansing. Thelen was Sparrow Hospital's first COVID-19 patient and spent 55 days in the hospital and a month on a ventilator fighting the virus.

On Sept. 1, she climbed onto the board, paddled out into Lake Michigan and stood up. Jeannine and Larry spent only about 30 minutes on the water but, in her mind, it was a major accomplishment.

“That was kind of a milestone for me,” Jeannine said. “I can get on a paddleboard, I can walk, I’m feeling great."

'It’s about keeping your neighbors safe'

People need to take the precautions seriously, Jeannine said. Wear a mask, avoid gatherings and stay home because it's about keeping everyone else safe, she said.

The Thelens wince at the sight of someone not wearing a mask or wearing one that doesn’t properly cover their nose.

“I just feel like it’s a selfish thing not to wear a mask,” Jeannine said.

It irks Larry more.

“It infuriates me,” Larry said.

Like many others, the Thelens changed plans to avoid any potential exposure to the virus. They've both had COVID-19 and don't know if they can catch the virus again.

Larry normally goes deer hunting with friends in Iowa in November. This year he canceled the trip.

“I will not take the chance,” Larry said, adding he can’t risk bringing the virus back home.

The Thelens agreed to forgo a Thanksgiving celebration this year and already canceled Christmas with their daughters and grandchildren.

“It’s a small price to pay to keep the family safe,” she said.

More:What you need to know about COVID-19-related restrictions in Michigan

If someone had a cold, they wouldn’t go to work or be around people, Jeannine said. People should handle the virus the same way.

Jeannine said she sees people making the virus political, or arguing that they don’t want to live in fear.

“It’s not about fear, it’s about keeping your neighbors safe,” she said.

Contact reporter Craig Lyons at 517-377-1047 or calyons@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @craigalyons.