SAN ANTONIO — Just a week after testing positive for coronavirus, a San Antonio woman is in critical condition.
Gary Gibson said his 63-year-old wife, Josie Krebs, was full of life with no underlying health conditions. Gibson said his wife didn’t travel anywhere and only left the house to run some errands, visiting a few grocery stores a few weeks ago.
“I didn't really want her to go,” said Gibson. “One in particular was very crowded. She mentioned that there was a guy standing behind her that was coughing, and then she went to another grocery store that was kind of crowded.”
In a few days, Gibson said Josie was coughing and having trouble breathing. He took her to an urgent care center where she was diagnosed with bronchitis.
“I brought her home and then she just started getting worse and worse, that was on a Monday and by Thursday I was taking her to the E.R. So, it developed very quickly,” said Gibson.
The following day, Gibson said Josie tested positive for coronavirus.
“It hit her really fast and sudden. It's just an insidious virus, the way it attacks so quickly,” said Gibson.
Gibson hasn’t been able to see his wife of 13 years, in almost two weeks. He is now at home in quarantine. He said he had a fever and cough for a few days, but is now feeling better.
Gibson said Josie remains in critical condition at the hospital where’s she’s in ICU and been on a on a ventilator for at least eight days. She is one of 15 San Antonians in the city on a ventilator, according to Metro Health.
“It's like a living nightmare to go through this,” said Gibson. “She was very healthy and full of life. It's really is shocking to see how fast this took a hold on her.”
Gibson said he wants to share Josie’s story so others will heed the warnings to stay home.
“I think Josie would really want her story told. I think it's important so that people understand the risks they're taken out in public,” said Gibson. “It just seems so easy to transmit this virus and people can go two weeks being asymptomatic without knowing they're carrying it and spreading it all around.”
He said Josie’s family, including her 5-year-old granddaughter are holding on to hope that Josie recovers soon.
“She's a fighter. She's lasted this long on it, and we're we're still rooting for her every day that she keeps fighting this and comes home to her loved ones and her granddaughter, Avery. And we get to see her again and be a big happy family again,” said Gibson.
Gibson said he appreciates the doctors and nurses at Northeast Baptist Hospital who have gone above and beyond for Josie. He said doctors have not been able to give a long-term prognosis for Josie.