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Days before a Jefferson City area native began her medical residency, she fell ill.
March 20 was to be a big day for Brooke Griffin. The 29-year-old, who grew up on the family farm ancestors homesteaded outside Jefferson City, was to learn what residency program she was matched with.
Her family and friends were going to drive and fly out to be with Brooke to learn where she'd be going and celebrate with her.
She has wanted to take care of people since she was a little girl, mother Nancy Griffin said.
"This was probably the most important day from the very beginning," Nancy said. "She wanted to be a doctor since she was 5 years old."
However, the coronavirus pandemic had already started, and her friends chose to cancel the trip rather than risk spreading the infection.
Brooke called Wednesday and said she didn't feel well. She said she would let the family know before they left Thursday whether they should cancel plans. Brooke called early Thursday morning and told them they should stay home. She was to undergo tests for seasonal flu Friday.
When tests came back negative for flu, she became anxious. She thought it might be COVID-19.
Brooke, who has asthma, knew this was serious.
"It's different, Mom," she told Nancy when she called that Friday evening. "Every joint aches - my toes, my fingers. It's different than anything I've ever experienced."
Brooke called the next evening and said she could feel the illness affecting her lungs.
By Sunday, she was having difficulty breathing and her nebulizer wasn't helping.
Monday night (March 23), her doctor told her she had to go to the emergency room.
The protocol of their health department, Nancy said, was that they didn't want to use a quick COVID-19 test on her. She didn't have the typical symptoms.
Brooke's doctors were well-informed on treatments for COVID-19, and even though it hadn't been confirmed, they began treating her with hydroxychloroquine (an anti-malaria drug) and two anti-viral medications.
"By their experience, it was COVID-19," Nancy said.
Brooke's family felt helpless. The state in which she was hospitalized was "locked down," and the family didn't know if they'd be able to get to her.
"We were scared that she would be alone, and we were afraid that when we got to her it would be too late," Nancy wrote to state Rep. Rudy Veit. "It was one of the most vulnerable and emotional times of our lives. We felt helpless. We reached out to family and friends and they reached out to others, and we all prayed. That was all we could do. We couldn't be with her as she was in isolation, and no one is allowed in the hospital."
Brooke stayed in touch by cellphone, although she was in the hospital.
Her body aches subsided, but she couldn't breathe well enough to speak on the phone for a couple of days.
Her condition was "really bad" this past Friday morning, Nancy said.
The family contacted a doctor who had been a mentor for Brooke at a clinic where Brooke worked.
That doctor spent hours searching for information on how COVID-19 affects asthmatics.
She told the family Brooke's situation was dire. If she worsened much, doctors would be forced to intubate Brooke - placing a tube down her throat to provide oxygen to the lungs.
"That was the longest 24 hours of our lives," Nancy said. "They still didn't have the test results back, but they were treating her. We were fortunate they didn't have to wait for the test to come back - because I don't think Brooke would have survived."
This past Saturday, Brooke called.
"It was a blessing to hear her voice," Nancy said Monday, but added she's still not out of the woods. "Although her labs are trending good, her lungs are worsening."
Where Brooke contracted the virus remains a mystery. None of the other staff at the family clinic where she works have come down with the virus. She had been grocery shopping and went to the gym before it closed, but nowhere else.
She remains in isolation.
When she finally does beat the virus, she'll be required to have two negative COVID-19 tests in 24 hours to get a release from the hospital.
Then she'll come home. Brooke had planned to return home in the beginning of May anyway. Her residency is to start in June.
"She needs a break," Nancy said. "Before that, she needed a break."