Coronavirus survivor credits experimental drug with saving her husband's life
Susan Kane speaks with Martha MacCallum on 'The Story.'
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A recovered Washington state COVID-19 patient joined "The Story" Thursday to detail her husband's personal experience with the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, after President Trump said it was being eyed as a potential treatment for the coronavirus.
Susan Kane told host Martha MacCallum her husband tested positive after returning home from a business trip to Florida. When she heard a local hospital was using remdesivir on an experimental basis, she was willing to give it a try.
"When my husband started to get very sick, I just thought, that’s where I want to take him. We could have gone to about four different hospitals, but I wanted to take him to Providence [Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash.], because I heard the first patient survived. I didn’t know why, but I heard that he survived," she said.
In a press conference Thursday, Trump and FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn described several approaches under testing, such as chloroquine, a drug long used to treat malaria, and remdesivir, which is being tried in at least five separate experiments.
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Susan Kane, who also tested positive for the virus but experienced minor symptoms, said her husband began to feel better almost immediately.
"He was admitted on Monday. He was given his first dose on Tuesday. By Wednesday, he was improving dramatically," she said. "His fever went down from 103 to just under 100. By that night, he said that it didn’t feel as tight or as much pressure on his chest."
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Susan said her husband continues to improve "every day," and that he has since returned home to complete his recovery.
As of Thursday afternoon, more than 242,000 coronavirus cases have been diagnosed worldwide, more than 13,600 of which are in the U.S. The virus has killed at least 9,800 people around the world, including 218 people in the U.S.
Fox News' James Rogers contributed to this report.
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