BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — A Wyoming County woman described the difficulties she faced trying to get her husband tested for COVID-19. On Friday, March 20, 2020, Angela Lanning took her husband to five different medical facilities across two counties before he could be tested for COVID-19.
“People that are sick cannot be tested even if doctors offices are saying to be tested. There’s nobody that can test him,” said Lanning.
Lanning’s husband works in Tennessee and Virginia. Thursday night he came home very sick
“He was sitting up in bed because he said when he laid down it felt like he couldn’t breathe, like mucus was drowning him,” Lanning said.
Friday morning she took him to the health department and they sent him to their family doctor. The Lannings went to Family Health Care Associates in Pineville, where their doctor said he met all criteria for coronavirus, fever, cough, and recent travel out of state. He also tested negative for the flu and strep.
“He’s running a fever of 102, he’s coughing, it’s very hard for him to breathe. He said it feels like someone is squeezing his lungs,” said Lanning.
Their family doctor gave him a West Virginia test number and sent him to Primary Care and Prevention Clinic an hour away in Beckely. By the time Lanning got there, they missed the time frame for testing.
Dr. Ayne Amjad told 59 News testing sites have specific time slots because not all staff are trained to test people. At her clinic, only the woman from the CAMC lab is trained to do the test.
She said doctors cannot put their staff or other patients at risk, which is why its important the tests are highly controlled. They can only test patients who were already screened by their family doctors, and the doctors must call ahead and ask when the patient can come get tested, so medical staff can prepare for them. Amjad said the clinic did not receive a call from the Lanning’s doctor.
Lanning said she worried the longer they were on the road, the worse the situation was getting.
“With him being in Beckley and us being in here for five hours, we’re having to travel around… of course he’s going to have to use the bathroom, so we’re having to question whether he should even stop to use the bathroom because he could have this, and we don’t want anybody else to get sick,” said Lanning.
Lanning called her doctor back, who sent them to Raleigh General Hospital. When they got to the hospital and presented the test ID, Angela said they told her they were only testing people who are already hospitalized and critical. She was told even if they checked him into ER, they could not guarantee they could test him.
Then she called the CDC who told her to go to BARH. At 5 p.m., her husband finally got tested; they first took him to the doctor around 11 a.m.
“My advice to anybody would be, call the CDC,” said Lanning. “If anybody turns you away, if you meet the criteria and have been given a West Virginia testing number, go directly to the CDC.”
The results will come back in about four days.
Lanning said her husband must stay in the hospital for six to eight hours with no visitors. Doctors said his respiratory levels are not good and he may need a ventilator. She said his doctors are working directly with the CDC right now and are going to do all they can to help him. She said she is very grateful to them
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