On the mend

Two weeks ago, Ryan Key felt like he was coming down with a bad chest cold. His wife Randi Key woke up about five days later with chills and sweats. Randi had been off work for those five days due to a combination of vacation and her regular day off but was scheduled to go back that day.

Because she is a nurse practitioner with the University of Iowa hospital, Randi knew she shouldn’t go to work.

“Being a health care provider, I was anxious about going back to work anyway with everything that was going on,” she said. “I decided to let my team know I wasn’t going to come in that day.”

As the day wore on, the symptoms got worse. She developed a cough, chest tightness, “overwhelming fatigue” and body aches, although she never did develop a fever. She did a telehealth video chat with a doctor from University of Iowa Health Care and it was decided she should be tested for COVID-19.

The test was positive.

Randi’s positive test was the first in Iowa County. Ryan didn’t feel as bad as Randi but he lost his sense of taste, which Randi recognized as a symptom of the coronavirus. Although he was not officially tested, he is presumed to be positive for the disease as well.

Ryan and Randi are graduates of Creston Community High School — Ryan in 1998 and Randi in 2000 — who now live work in the Iowa City area. Randi’s parent’s Danny and Sherri Hayes and Ryan’s father Steve Key still live in Creston, while his mother, Mary Jo Key now lives in Ankeny.

Randi and Ryan were supposed to have gone on a spring break trip, but they decided to cancel it because of concerns about COVID-19. That proved to be a wise move. Rather than catching the virus on their trip, they would have spread it.

“We had thought we had done everything right to prevent this,” Randi said. “We cancelled our spring break plans and we have stayed home. We ordered groceries for pickup. I had worked 3 days last week and to avoid crowds I walked the almost mile into my office to avoid riding the cambus full of people. I took the stairs at work to avoid the elevator. I had not cared for a COVID-19 patient.”

The couple’s three children, Wyatt, Ryder and Skylar, remained at home with them while they were sick. Medical professionals said the children had already been exposed, so it was best to just limit contact with them in the home.

Wyatt, 12, has asthma, so he has spent most of his time in his room in the basement with his video games. Ryder, 8, and Skylar, 4, have had a harder time staying away from their parents.

“Ryder is trying to entertain her (Skylar) but mostly she just wants mom,” Randi said. “Four-year-olds have no idea what social distancing is and she still wants to snuggle as usual.”

Fortunately, none of the three children have exhibited symptoms — although the incubation period is not quite over.

Randi and Ryan are starting to recover.

“I still have some chest pressure ... still coughing, still don’t have taste and smell, but my symptoms are a lot better than they were a week ago,” Randi said.

The university hospital just released Randi from its list of patients who receive a daily call from the COVID-19 clinic to check on their symptoms. She said she will be able to go back to work sometime next week.

Ryan has been feeling better since last weekend. His symptoms started earlier and were milder.

Randi said she is grateful for all of the support and prayers they have received and wants Iowans to take this problem seriously, staying home and limiting the trips that they take out of the house.

“Monitor your symptoms, not everyone is showing the classic symptoms like they’re reporting on TV,” she said. “And pray for our country. Everybody is going through a hard time.”