The Tribune

By FELICITY DARVILLE

LOCKDOWNS may have been lifted, and mask mandates may have been suspended, but the effects of COVID-19 have been vast and devastating, and they leave a lasting impression on many today. Bahamian families have been ripped apart by the pandemic. In some cases, several members of one family have died due to the coronavirus disease.

About 800 people were reported to have died due to COVID-19 in The Bahamas. In addition to those who have died, others are still suffering from the effects of long-term COVID. It’s something that is not often discussed, but is very real and prevalent, as many people are battling from symptoms that linger long after they contracted the virus.

Mia Campbell is one of them. Her battle with COVID-19 continues 14 months after the first sign of ill health. She is determined to beat the disease that has taken lives and caused suffering and pain to many.

While some contracted the disease and experienced mild symptoms that went away, there are others like Mia whose lives have been completely changed by COVID-19. She was a healthy, vibrant business woman with an active lifestyle. While she continues to stand strong and remain positive, she finds herself having to face multiple doctors and tests, and she has been re-admitted to hospital more than once as she fights to regain her former active way of life.

Coronavirus first raised its ugly head in her life around Christmas time: “With the start of Christmas festivities in 2021, my entire family was excited to be able to be together, but still we were taking precautions. So all members of my family, before coming together, did COVID testing. This is when I found out I was positive - on Christmas Eve! At first I felt okay. I only had nasal congestion with slight headaches. But by Boxing Day, I was feeling terrible. I had nasal congestion, headaches, nausea and vomiting, body aches, weakness, everything associated with COVID. I got worse as the days moved on. The symptoms got worse and they were stronger. It was rough as I live alone and had to take care of myself.”

Mia is a woman who has always been striving and independent. A 1993 graduate of St Augustine’s College, Mia spent two years training at the Bahamas Hotel Training College before landing her first job as an Apprentice Chef at Resorts International on Paradise Island. A few years later, Mia went into the financial sector and joined CIBC, where she worked in various positions before joining Unibanco as an executive assistant. She remained at Unibanco until the company closed their doors. Her path then led her to Cedric L Parker and Co where she worked as a legal assistant until 2020. The pandemic hit the country, as it did the world, and due to the changes, many had to adapt and find new ways of supporting themselves.

For Mia, it was an opportunity to become an entrepreneur. She opened her business AIM Concierge Services shortly thereafter. It turned out to be a great idea. With many people working from home, they were able to utilise Mia’s services to have items brought to their home. The convenience worked well with the new norm that COVID- 19 brought about. She was excited about the opportunity, but there was one downside. The travel restrictions affected her ability to visit her son Valin and his family, who reside in the United States. Like many others, Mia resorted to regular video calls to reach out and see her loved ones from afar.

Valin Bodie is performing exceptionally in agriculture, and was featured in Face to Face with Felicity in June 2021. Valin is said to be the youngest soil scientist in the cannabis industry in the United States. He owns and operates Environmental Soil Solutions (ESS), a soil company which he operates out of Stroud, Oklahoma. ESS sits on a few acres of land, and he is in the process of building the warehouse and office building as his business grows. Clients love the high quality soil mixtures ESS provides.

His business has since expanded from just servicing local gardening and retail stores in Tulsa to the entire Oklahoma City, as well as neighbouring states such as Missouri and Arkansas. Valin performs research and development activities, monitoring all progress, as well as preparing and mixing soil for packaging and distribution. He and his wife Keisha have two daughters - Iva and Haelyn.

They are Mia’s world. Family life is very important to her. Born and raised in New Providence, Mia is the eldest child of Estelle and Floyd Campbell. She has two brothers, Eddie and Jake, a sister-in-law, Anastasia, and a nephew, Tre. She is dedicated to her family as well as her friends, and she is known for her warm heart and her willingness to help not only her loved ones, but strangers when she sees people in need. Through her concierge business, she was meeting even more people and finding new ways to get involved with the community.

With so much to live for, Mia took it as a blow when she caught coronavirus during the holidays. After Boxing Day 2021, her initial battle went on for two weeks straight. Like many other Bahamians who experienced COVID, she was taking vitamins, bush medicine and over the counter drugs in an attempt to feel better. Symptoms, she said, wouldbe strong, then weak, then return just as strong as they did on day two. She would force herself to go outside and take walks, or take warm showers in an attempt to feel better. Two weeks later, she took a COVID-19 test which turned out negative. However, Mia says she was having a hard time recovering.

Mia says life has been difficult ever since the first time she contracted the disease. Daily activities were not the same as she struggled to get up to par.

She decided to visit a doctor to get professional help: “Post COVID is real! In January of 2022, I attended my private doctor with chest tightness and a racing heartbeat. He told me that I had anxiety, and prescribed Xanax pills. I didn’t take them as I didn’t want to get hooked on them.

“At the end of January 2022, I started having breathing issues. I always felt like I was fighting to breathe. I would have tightness and pain in my chest and my heart would feel like it was beating in my throat. I attended Doctors Hospital’s emergency room on January 27, 2022, where they took many tests and scans. My heart rate was elevated and stayed high for the entire ER visit. I was eventually discharged with meds to treat my symptoms and partially diagnosed with ‘long COVID’.

“I went on for months with these feelings and eventually went on with my private doctor’s diagnosis of maybe suffering from anxiety. I was visiting my son in Oklahoma in October 2022 when I had the same feelings again.

“I contacted a friend of mine who is a doctor in Nassau who told me to watch how I was feeling closely and told me to attend the ER if I felt worse. He said he thought that I was going to be okay. I chugged along and didn’t go to the ER.

“On November 30, 2022, I was once again having the feelings and this time, they were a bit more intense. I was home alone and didn’t want my brother to drive to get me as it was a bit far. I tried calling a few friends to take me to ER. One of my friend’s sisters came and took me.

“At this point, besides the chest pain and tightness, rapid heart beats and shortness of breath, I started feeling faint. My body was moving faster with these feelings than they did before. I made it to ER just in time. I passed out as I got in the ER. The doctors were able to wake me quickly.

“By that time, I was hooked up to everything! I was given aspirin and other medications along with morphine as the pain was very sharp. Morphine didn’t work and I was given something stronger. I ran a lot of tests and scans.

“After ten hours, I was discharged with medications and a referral to see a cardiologist. I attended a local cardiologist and did a few tests. I was given a Holter monitor to monitor my heart over the next 24 hours. My heart rate was extremely high even while I was asleep. I was then put on beta blocker pills to try to regulate my heart. The cardiologist here told me that I have all the symptoms of POTS - Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.”

Mia found herself in the ER once again in mid- December, 2022. The doctor on duty suggested that she see an electrophysiologist for her heart. There are no specialists of this kind in The Bahamas. Mia’s sister-in-law said her mother had been given the same diagnosis, and provided her with the name and contact of an electrophysicist in Miami, Florida.

This would be another difficult Christmastime for Mia, but she weathered through. By December 29, she was able to travel to Miami and visit the doctor. More tests were run, and Mia was told that she is most likely suffering from Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS), which is when the heart rate increases very quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down. However, additional tests and treatment would run her into at least $15,000.

Mia’s Doctors Hospital LAMP insurance had been providing some assistance with ER admission, tests and prescriptions, but she was not in a position to handle the new medical bills that were necessary to help her recover from life threatening symptoms.

Her son, Valin, set up a Go Fund Me to help his mother: “Many of you know me and you know how much my mom means to me and how much she pours into others. She now has some medical complications that have brought bills (She doesn’t have insurance unfortunately that’s not a norm in the Bahamas).”

The response has been tremendous, with many of the donors commenting on her kindness and willingness to help others, with the hopes that her kindness would be reciprocated at a time like this, when she is most in need. But Mia still needs another $10,000 to aid in her recovery. The details are outlined in the Go Fund Me page: https:// www.gofundme.com/f/ mia-campbell-with-medical-expenses.

“With this being known, I decided since I didn’t have any insurance, that I need to set my pride aside and have another fundraiser besides the Go Fund Me to assist me,” Mia said.

“I talked it over with my son again and some of my family and close friends, and we decided to have a souse out. As this planning is going on, I was again rushed to the ER on January 30, 2023; but as we know, I can only be treated to what we know so far. We won’t know for sure until all testing is complete. So I am taking all my medications until I can get the next two tests done.”

The Souse Out for Mia Campbell will be held this Saturday, February 25, at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church Grounds, Shirley Street, from 8am to 2pm. For more information, contact (242) 544-4570. Donations can also be made to Mia Campbell Scotiabank account number: 006015433, transit number: 70045.

When asked what lessons she could share with others from this entire ordeal, Mia replied: “You should always put family first. Pay attention to your body. Some signs might be minor, but some are showing you a bigger picture - things that need to be taken care of for you to live your best life.”