MILWAUKEE — While there’s no cure for COVID-19, one drug called Remdesivir has promise for treating the virus. It is part of the treatments President Trump is receiving, and a Milwaukee mom says she’s living testimony that it works.
Nicole Goins thinks back to mid-May, when she was fighting for her life, hospitalized with COVID-19.
“I’ve had the flu before and this was nothing. I couldn't compare this to anything that I had ever had,” Goins said. “I heard the code reds and the code blues surrounding me, where a couple of individuals had died.”
She had taken every precaution, but over the days, Goins started to have low oxygen levels, high heart rates and temperatures. Goins had to go on a ventilator and eventually developed pneumonia.
“It got to the point where, okay, I went from migraine to I couldn't breathe,” Goins said.
Despite this, doctors said there was nothing they could do to treat her.
“The only thing that I was like really waiting for that entire time was somebody to say, ‘you're gonna be okay,’” Goins said.
Then came some hope.
“My life is at stake. My life is in jeopardy. I have no choice at this point,” Goins said.
An infectious disease doctor came into her room and recommended they apply to get special-use for a drug called Remdesivir that had just received emergency approval by the FDA.
Though it was a long shot, the next day she got her golden ticket.
“The nurse came in and was like, ‘you got the lottery!’ And I'm like, ‘what?’ She was like, ‘Remdesivir, they approved you. You got the lottery,’” Goins said.
By day three of her five-day dose of Remdesivir, Goins said she started to feel better.
“It was kind of like a miracle, like a miracle drug,” Goins said.
Medical experts said it’s primarily used on seriously ill patients to make their symptoms more mild.
Dr. Ben Weston is the Milwaukee’s Director of Medical Services.
“By no means is it a medication that is going to cure COVID or prevent any of the adverse effects of COVID,” Dr. Weston said.
Though more research is needed and the drug is still not widely available, Goins said she’s living proof that it works.
“Remdesivir for me, I felt definitely saved my life,” Goins said.
Goins hopes that more people diagnosed with COVID-19 will have access to Remdesivir in the near future.
Several months later, Goins is still experiencing some symptoms. She hasn’t completely gotten back her senses.