Tanquile

The day after starting her new job in Michigan, Tanquile was out of work. She had just moved up from Texas to connect with family and begin a new job at a factory when her entire family contracted Covid-19. What started as a mild cough and fatigue quickly led to complete numbness in her left-leg leading up to her hip, leaving her unable to walk. Tanquile felt like she had been paralyzed and would call her mysterious numbness a “dead leg.” She recounts telling her leg to move, and it wouldn’t. Terrified, she sought help and ended up in the hospital for over a week. Doctors ran tests, MRIs, CAT scans, and a spinal tap to confirm that she had developed Transverse Myelitis from Covid19. Transverse Myelitis is an inflammation of both sides of one section of the spinal cord that interrupts the spinal cord nerves’ messages throughout the body. The condition is associated with infectious diseases and can take up to two years to recover, leaving some individuals disabled. Tanquile’s case was the first doctors had seen of transverse myelitis caused by Covid-19 - adding to the long list of confusing and varied effects of this virus. For months Tanquile has been in physical therapy, slowly making progress on walking and movements such as standing up/sitting down. She is not able to work at this time and has joined the estimated 10% of individuals disabled or in need of continued medical care after contracting covid-19. Regardless of the unknowns in her recovery, Tanquile is blessed and grateful to have her life and her family’s support. She is looking forward to the vaccine and hopes people continue to take the threat of this virus seriously.

*You can hear Tanquile’s full story in her Zoom Interview below.