President Donald Trump on Tuesday met with recovered coronavirus patients at the White House.
State Representative Karen Whitsett of Michigan, who credited President Trump for her treatment with hydroxychloroquine, met with the president as well as other patients from California, Michigan, and Arkansas.
“I was afraid for my life,” Whitsett said, noting that the hospitals surrounding her were full, and added, “I honestly felt like I was going to die.”
She said she was particularly concerned about her life, as she had chronic Lyme disease when she contracted the virus, but took hydroxychloroquine and felt better.
“Thank you for everything that you have done. I did not know that saying thank you had a political line,” she said. “I thought just saying thank you meant, thank you.”
Trump said that he wanted Whitsett to visit his personal White House physician to get advice for curing her Lyme disease.
Whitsett said she was not telling everyone what to do but wanted to share her story.
“I’m telling my story and my truth,” she said.
Trump joked that Whitsett probably was not going to vote for Joe Biden for president.
“Well I’m not going to speak for her, but I don’t see her vomiting for sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump said. “I’m not going to ask that question.”
Last week, the president cited her case on Twitter as a symbol of hope for coronavirus patients around the United States.
Mark Campbell, a former NFL tight end who played at the University of Michigan with quarterback Tom Brady, spoke about his experience with the disease.
He said the only thing he could remember out of the ordinary was touching a gas pump handle before coming down with the virus.
Campbell said he spent 30 days in quarantine to keep from spreading the disease.
“That’s lonely,” he said.
David Mangan, a pharmaceutical salesman, said that he and his wife Rachel had coronavirus symptoms, a low fever, and some aches and chills when they returned from a ski trip in Colorado, but they said they were not very bad until the next week, when the respiratory part of the disease hit.
The couple said that it took over a month to fully recover from the disease.
When asked how she felt, Rachel Mangan said she felt about 85 percent back to normal.
“Stay away from me, please,” Trump grinned as the group laughed.
Trump thanked the former patients from sharing their stories about their fight with the disease and said that significant progress was being made.
“I think we’re going to beat those 100,000 deaths; can you believe it?” Trump said to his guests. “We made the right moves, now it’s time to get our country reopened again.”
The following group of former coronavirus patients gathered in the Cabinet Room for the visit and talked about their experiences with the disease.
Carl Goldman, CA
Jeri Seratti Goldman, CA
Karen Whitsett, MI
Jason Whitsett, MI
David Mangan, AR
Rachel Mangan, AR
Darshin Patel, CA
Mark Campbell, MI