LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's been one year since the very first person in Louisville was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Now, that man is reflecting on those early days of the pandemic.
Donn Adams and his wife, Marky Willis-Adams, are the first to admit they're not very good at being retired. So at the beginning of 2020, Adams was traveling a lot for the startup tech company they both work for part-time.
"I was gone every week. A lot in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama," said Adams.
In late February, he returned from a conference in Florida and thought he had a cold. But they'd already paid for a trip to Mexico, so he powered through.
"We weren't down there a day until I was really getting sick. And we pretty much did not leave the room," said Adams.
A week later, he returned to Louisville in a wheelchair.
"I've never been that sick. I don't ever recall being that sick. And I was scared," he said.
Within 24 hours, he was in isolation at Norton Brownsboro Hospital — the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Louisville.
Donn Adams, the first Louisville resident diagnosed with COVID-19 last year.
"The mayor was standing outside and doing the press conference and saying we have a 69-year-old man and I'm going, 'That's me! That's kind of surreal,'" Adams reflected.
"I kind of backed into a corner got out of the way and cried because it was scary," said Willis-Adams.
Dr. Paul Schulz, an infectious disease specialist with Norton Healthcare, was part of the team treating Adams in those early days of the pandemic.
"Often times you don't know if you're prepared enough until it happens," Schulz said.
While Adams' symptoms didn't match what doctors anticipated with the virus, they started treating him for COVID-19.
Donn Adams, the first Louisville resident diagnosed with COVID-19 last year.
"There was really no treatment to offer than what we'd call supportive care at that point," Schulz said.
"Well they emptied the medicine cabinet so they were putting shots into my IV just every hour," said Adams.
Marky quarantined with him in the isolation room at the hospital, but never tested positive for the virus. Less than a week later, they both went home. One year after his diagnosis, Adams still has some lingering weakness from COVID.
"You don't have the lung capacity that you used to," said Willis-Adams.
But they are both now fully vaccinated and feeling positive about the future.
"I believe the county has a ways to go, but we're on our way," Adams said.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 5,000 patients have been hospitalized for COVID-19 cross the Norton Healthcare system. They've given 200,000 COVID-19 tests and 100,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
You can watch the full interview with Adams below:
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