SMITH COUNTY, Texas — With all of the numbers and statistics on COVID-19, some are beginning to forget the human side of the pandemic.
CBS19 has set out to tell the stories of East Texans who have fought the coronavirus battle.
This week, we speak with Faye Lynn Ryan, who explains her cousin, Dianna Smith's, personal journey with COVID-19.
66-year-old Dianna Smith is finally going home after spending the last four months in various medical facilities.
As Dianna drove away with her daughter and granddaughter, her cousin, Faye Lynn Ryan, shared the story of struggle, triumph and loss.
"Seeing her come out of there alive and ready to go home and breathing good, it was a blessing! It was just a miracle from God that she’s alive. It was just a joy to our hearts, thank you, Jesus!," Ryan said.
Dianna and her brother, Brian Smith, had recently bought a new mobile home together. With just a month living at the new home, the two contracted COVID-19.
"She stayed at home for a while and then she finally called her daughter Janice and said I can’t breathe I have to go," Ryan said. "They went to Jacksonville, then they had to move her. Jacksonville couldn’t take care of them."
Brian had to be transported to the East Texas Medical Center in Tyler and Dianna to Longview.
"There was no room here in Tyler for her so she wound up in Good Shepherd in Longview," Ryan said. "They took excellent care of her and just helped her to survive, got her through it. When she went into the hospital, it was the first week of October, and she was on a ventilator for 30 days and she’s been here at the Center at Grande rehab for about a month. So she’s been in the hospital since last October."
"Brian was 50 years old, working and doing fantastic and he caught COVID. He actually stayed at home too long and when he went to the hospital he was very sick."
Brian sadly passed away after being in the hospital for about a month.
"Diana‘s foot still has to have a boot on it, Ryan said. "She doesn’t have all of her strength back yet but she hopes to be able to walk again and therapy will come to the house and work with her there. One of the things she’s looking forward to is eating good food from her daughter's cooking. She has already put in her request for what she wants to eat. She wants to help her daughter with her grandkids. She has been working at the Texas National Bank in Bullard for years and they have been a blessing to her, they have supported her and taking care of her."
"Her faith is, she is a born-again Christian, we all are and we know that through many many prayers, from all over Bullard, Tyler, Jacksonville everybody has prayed for her and donated money to keep her going, and God is in control. He’s answered our prayers and not everybody has been able to survive COVID-19," Ryan said. "But she is a survivor. She’s a survivor and she’s going to make it!"
Ryan says if you have the virus and you feel like you can’t breathe, go to the hospital, do not wait.
"They waited too long, and they shouldn’t have," she said. "Go immediately, even though they were taking medicine, go to the hospital and get help.
Diana has returned home, and while her brother will not be there, her daughter’s family will be moving in to make sure she is well taken care of.
If you or someone you know has had a personal fight with the coronavirus, text us at (903) 600-2600.