MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — An unvaccinated Marshalltown nurse who barely survived a nasty bout with COVID-19 is urging people to get the shot and avoid the struggle she faced and continues to face.
Julie Stevens, 39, told Local 5 she elected not to get vaccinated because she was worried about potential side effects such as aches and chills. But in August she contracted the disease, and after five days of resting at home, she was admitted to a Marshalltown hospital because her symptoms were getting worse.
Stevens then spent five days on a ventilator, was intubated and eventually transferred to intensive care.
"You know, what are the chances that I would ever get sick enough to be hospitalized, let alone on a ventilator? Like slim to none because I'm healthy," Stevens said of her mindset about not getting vaccinated. "I would let people know that COVID doesn't discriminate. It doesn't care if you're young. It doesn't care."
Stevens eventually recovered well enough to leave the hospital, but she's still on oxygen and struggles at times to breathe.
Stevens believes that had she gotten vaccinated, she would've likely avoided a hospital stay as her husband did. He caught COVID a few days after she did but experienced mild symptoms.
"I was unvaccinated. It was a poor choice on my part," Stevens said. "I'm regretful for that."
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