Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/1264973
12 t m c n e w s . o r g I n early March, Patsy Clapp drove to Tyler, Texas, to visit a brother who has Parkinson's disease. She left on March 5, spent three days in Dallas and returned to Houston on March 8. By then, COVID-19 cases related to interna- tional travel had been confirmed in Houston and concern was growing about the health status of individuals who had made domestic trips. SXSW in Austin, one of the largest music, film and media festivals in the world, had been can- celed and "social distancing" had entered the general lexicon. The global pandemic was no longer an inter- national news item. The coronavirus was here. Clapp, a 74-year-old bone marrow cancer patient who beat breast cancer two decades ago, prepared to stay close to home for a while. She visited Cornelius Nursery on Voss Rd. to buy oakleaf hydrangeas, begonias and caladiums for her townhouse courtyard so that she could have some fresh color around her bubbling fountain and late-blooming azaleas. "I learned how to do home delivery from H-E-B and got my groceries ordered in," Clapp said. "I purposely did not see my children or my grandchildren." The longtime antiques dealer also got her hair done. Those would be the last of her usual activities for weeks. Clapp started feeling ill on Tuesday, March 17. Her symptoms began with a fever, a bad headache and fatigue. She stopped eating because of nausea and other gastrointestinal issues, but she didn't have the signature COVID-19 cough. "I lost my appetite to even drink water for five days," she said. But the fatigue hit her the hardest. "I am usually very high energy," Clapp said. "I had friends and family checking on me all the time and I didn't even have the energy to return texts or emails. I just was zapped. My body ached. … I felt as bad as I have felt since I delivered my twins au naturel." On Friday, March 20, she called her internist's office. The voicemail message advised her to go to the emergency room. "But, of course, that was 180 [degrees] from what the TV was telling us to do. They were saying to stay away from the emergency room," Clapp recalled. Patsy Clapp poses in the yard of her Houston home. B y C i n d y G e o r g e Cancer Patient Beats COVID-19 Patsy Clapp credits Houston Health Department epidemiology specialists with her recovery