When Ebony Douglas could no longer work or stay in her home due to a severe case of COVID-19, she was devastated to lose her independence.
Our ONE Health complex care team stepped in to help, connecting Ebony with the health care and support she needed to get back on track.
Today, she has reconnected with her family and is looking forward to moving back into a place of her own.
Ebony Douglas loved her job working with kids. She loved coming home to the peace and quiet of her own four walls, and spending time with her big extended family in Memphis.
The lingering effects of COVID-19 robbed her of those pleasures for a while, but Ebony refused to give up. With the help of case manager Porshure Richardson and Regional One Health’s ONE Health complex care team, she is reclaiming her independence and, just as importantly, her joy.
“It was a rollercoaster ride, but I had Miss Porshure on my side,” Ebony said. “She stood by me and went through the whole battle with me.”
In early 2020, Ebony, a Memphis native, was working at a daycare center – a job that was a perfect fit for someone who has always loved being around kids. When she started feeling under the weather, she never thought her whole life was about to be upended.
“I didn’t think it was that drastic – I thought I’d just had an allergy or sinus flare-up,” she said. “I went to the nearest hospital and they did a test, and they told me I had COVID. By the time I got home, I was running a fever, and I couldn’t shake it. It was scary.”
She went to the emergency department at Regional One Health, where she was diagnosed with COVID pneumonia and admitted to the hospital.
She was able to be released after a week, but Ebony struggled to fully bounce back. To this day, she tires easily and has shortness of breath and difficulty standing and walking for long periods of time. Such symptoms are a reality for patients with “long COVID,” a condition in which health problems persist for weeks, months, or even years after initial infection.
Case Manager Porshure Richardson helped Ebony Douglas get the medical care and support she needed to overcome serious impacts from COVID-19. “It was a rollercoaster ride, but I had Miss Porshure on my side,” Ebony said. “She stood by me and went through the whole battle with me.”
For Ebony, it was alarming. “Before COVID, I was healthy. I could run around after the kids at the daycare. I’d cook and clean for them. Nothing kept me from working,” she said. “Going from working to all of a sudden not being able to work was hard.”
Without her job, Ebony could no longer afford to live on her own. She didn’t have insurance, so it was difficult to access care for the symptoms she was experiencing. As she battled both poor health and the major changes in her lifestyle, she became depressed.
When Ebony was hospitalized at Regional One Health, Porshure had visited her to tell her about ONE Health. ONE Health is designed to help patients who do not have health insurance by connecting them to medical care as well as resources to meet social determinants of health like housing, food, and transportation.
Ebony reached out to Porshure, and they had an immediate connection: “She was an angel. I was going through a depression and I felt like I didn’t have anybody to talk to, and she was there.”
Porshure understood what Ebony was going through.
“It really hurt her to not be able to work and do what she needed to be doing,” she said. “Miss Douglas is a person who enjoyed working her whole live; who enjoyed helping kids. It was hard to see her going through those health conditions and struggling to get out of bed.”
Porshure connected Ebony with Regional One Health providers for her long COVID symptoms and for high blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes. They have helped her access blood pressure and diabetes management supplies, as well as medications to keep the conditions well-controlled.
Porshure also contacted ONE Health’s community partners, helping Ebony receive healthy meals through the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association’s Meals on Wheels program.
“It isn’t just all about your medical needs, it’s about everything they can help you with,” Ebony said. “It’s very hands-on.”
The ONE Health complex care program connects patients with the medical care they need at Regional One Health. The program also works with partners throughout the community to help patients with housing, food, transportation, and other social needs.
Perhaps the most critical step was securing Ebony’s disability benefits, which will allow her to manage her health long-term. It was a lengthy, complex process, and Ebony is grateful for Porshure’s support: “I told her so many times that I wanted to give up. I’d call her crying, and she’d tell me not to quit,” Ebony said. “She’s played a big role in getting me to where I am.”
“It was a long journey, but it was really a beautiful experience,” Porshure said. “When she called and told me she’d been approved, I was ecstatic. She truly deserves it – she’s just trying to focus on getting better, and I’m thrilled we were able to help her navigate those obstacles.”
Now, Ebony can continue to work on improving her health and regaining her independence.
She plans to follow her physical therapist’s recommendations to start water aerobics and is also scheduled for a sleep study to improve her sleep.
Most of all, she is eager to get back to living on her own: “Living under somebody else’s roof is something I don’t want to do forever. I want to get my independence back,” Ebony said.
She also plans to cherish time with her family – something poor health and despair robbed her of for a time.
“All of my brothers and sisters are here – I’m the baby girl of 7 kids! But when I was in a dark place, I pushed back from them,” she said. “Now we’re back to sitting and talking and laughing together, and I get plenty of chances to be around kids – my mom has 30 grandchildren! My great nieces come to see me and tell me all about how their day went in school.”
“It makes me still look forward to life.”