Actress Alyssa Milano is opening up about battling the coronavirus earlier this year.
Milano revealed on Instagram that she was extremely sick back in April, but her COVID-19 tests came back negative. She later took a finger prick antibody test, which also came back negative. It wasn’t until recently, when she did a blood-draw antibody test, that she got a positive result.
The star shared a photo of herself with what appeared to be an oxygen mask, and the message, “This was me on April 2nd after being sick for 2 weeks. I had never been this kind of sick. Everything hurt. Loss of smell. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t keep food in me. I lost 9 pounds in 2 weeks. I was confused. Low grade fever. And the headaches were horrible. I basically had every Covid symptom. At the very end of march I took two covid19 tests and both were negative. I also took a covid antibody test (the finger prick test) after I was feeling a bit better. NEGATIVE.”
She continued, “After living the last 4 months with lingering symptoms like, vertigo, stomach abnormalities, irregular periods, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, zero short term memory, and general malaise, I went and got an antibody test from a blood draw (not the finger prick) from a lab. I am POSITIVE for covid antibodies. I had Covid19.”
Alyssa insisted “our testing system is flawed,” adding “this illness is not a hoax. I thought I was dying.”
The “Charmed” alum said, “I will be donating my plasma with hopes that I might save a life. Please take care of yourselves. Please wash your hands and wear a mask and social distance. I don’t want anyone to feel the way I felt.”