A Democrat state representative from Detroit, Michigan is giving praise to hydroxychloroquine and President Trump for saving her life as she battled the coronavirus.
State Rep. Karen Whitsett says “I thank God that the President of the United States mentioned that drug because it did save me.”
Whitsett said she went into home quarantine on March 12 -- the she day she last attended a session at the State House in Lansing.
She says her health quickly deteriorated over the following week. She then tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing “shortness of breath, swollen lymph nodes, and what felt like a sinus infection”.
The Detroit Free Press reports:
Whitsett said she was familiar with "the wonders" of hydroxychloroquine from an earlier bout with Lyme disease, but does not believe she would have thought to ask for it, or her doctor would have prescribed it, had Trump not been touting it as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
Trump, at his daily coronavirus briefings, has repeatedly touted the drug in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, despite criticism from health professionals that it is unproven and potentially dangerous. There have also been complaints that Trump's remarks have resulted in a shortage of the drug for those people who normally use it for its recommended purposes.
But Whitsett said Trump's comments helped in her case.
"It has a lot to do with the president ... bringing it up," Whitsett said. "He is the only person who has the power to make it a priority."
Asked whether she thinks Trump may have saved her life, Whitsett said: "Yes, I do," and "I do thank him for that."
She said several hours after taking her first dose of hydroxychloroquine, she started to feel relief.
She told WDIV-TV in Detroit, “let’s just put politics aside, right now let’s just be human beings...and let me just say that the president who is in office right now, the President of the United States I give him credit where credit is due.”
President Trump responded to her story on twitter, writing “Congratulations to State Representative Karen Whitsett of Michigan. So glad you are getting better!”