FIVE family members were all diagnosed with COVID-19 – and it all started with a cough.
Ryan Weinhaus, his wife Brittanie, his brother Jason, and his parents Jane and Michael have all tested positive for the coronavirus after Jane developed a persistent cough in mid-March.
"That's where it all started, with a cough, and the next thing you know, it was not getting better," the 32-year-old told KSDK.
Jane was hospitalized on a ventilator for nearly a week at Missouri Baptist Hospital.
The 63-year-old is a preschool teacher at Temple Israel's Deutsch Early Childhood Center, where other teachers and one parent tested positive.
She had no prior health issues or preexisting conditions.
Jane was taken off the ventilator in St. Louis on Monday and is showing signs of improvement, Jane's husband Michael told the news station.
Michael – who is hooked up to oxygen in the ICU -also tested positive.
Jason, Ryan's brother, also showed coronavirus symptoms including body aches, fever, shortness of breath and a cough, but is "pretty much back to 100%" according to Ryan.
"He did go to the E.R. once, but he was never admitted to the hospital," he said.
Although Jason is slowly recovering, he's still in quarantine, away from his wife and two young children.
Family members haven't been able to visit each other because the disease is so contagious, said Ryan, who is recovering with his wife after they developed similar symptoms.
He never believed he would be one of more than 55,000 Americans to be infected by the virus – now he's urging others to think twice.
"I did not expect myself to test positive or to have some of these symptoms," he said.
"It's not even so much about you protecting yourself, but it's you protecting people on the outside as well.
"So be smart. Stay in your house. You know, follow suit."
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