A teenage girl from Southern California who didn’t believe in COVID-19 has finally recovered after being hospitalized for almost two full months with the virus. Augustina Rojas started to feel sick in June but never imagined that her pounding head and trouble breathing were symptoms of the dangerous illness spreading across the country. Now, 57 days after she was admitted to the hospital because of the coronavirus, Augustina has recovered. She's using her experience to teach other people to take the virus she once thought was a hoax seriously and to wear a mask.
The 14-year-old knew she was coming down with something in June, but she “thought nothing of COVID.”
“I didn’t think it was real,” the teen told People. Not only did her doctors tell her that COVID-19 was real — but she had it. And she needed to head to Children's Hospital of Orange County "right away."
Augustina’s father, José Rojas, was also shocked when he learned the diagnosis.
Augustina was otherwise healthy – she has no underlying conditions — and the dad was “nervous” when they were told it was the coronavirus.
"It was kind of a surprise … We didn't know what was going to happen,” he said.
They now believe that a family member who was previously exposed to the virus might have exposed Augustina, but at the time they were baffled.
On June 7, Augustina was officially admitted to CHOC Children's for respiratory distress.
First they put Augustina on a high-flow nasal cannula – a device that provides supplemental oxygen to patients — but then her doctors put her on a bilevel positive airway pressure machine — a noninvasive breathing support device with a mask — when her condition went from bad to worse.
Weeks went by and still Augustina fought for her life in the hospital.
Eventually her doctors put her on a breathing tube and then a ventilator. Things got so bad that her doctors considered putting her on a ECMO heart-lung machine — a machine that offers cardiac and respiratory support.
Augustina also had two surgeries during her time in the hospital, but she says she doesn’t remember anything that happened to her.
“I don't remember anything — what happened, how I got there. It just happened,” she said. But her father remembered everything that Augustina experienced during those hard, scary, two months.
“I was very worried and confused … I didn’t know if she would make it or not,” José remembered.
To keep her going, the dad would talk to Augustina.
“I know she heard everything. I told her, 'You're gonna be okay, nothing is gonna happen to you. You're gonna be with us again.'"
In August, the dad’s prayers were answered. Augustina was slowly getting better.
Her doctors felt she was doing well enough that they could give her nitric oxide and flipped her onto her stomach, a technique known as proning. They also performed a tracheotomy on Augustina to help get her off sedation and ventilator support, and soon after she started to regain consciousness.
“When I first woke up, [I just remember that] I wanted my dad and mom there,” she recalled.
“Everyone was surprised," José continued. "I don't have the words to say the way I feel.”
Augustina was discharged from the hospital to the delight of hospital staff, who made a “cheer tunnel” as she left.
They made Augustina posters and had streamers and balloons to celebrate the girl’s recovery. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to go home just yet. She was taken to Healthbridge Children's Hospital in Orange, where she will enter a rehabilitation program to help her relearn how to do basic tasks such as sitting up, standing, and walking.
Of course, the teen is ready “to go back to my normal life and do everything I used to."
Augustina turned 14 on August 28, and three days later she was discharged from the hospital and finally sent home 85 days after she was first admitted.
“It was great to celebrate my birthday because I had been in the hospital for a long time and I was just ready to move on and go home,” she recalled.
Now that she’s home and on the mend, all Augustina wants is to use her story to make sure others stay safe.
“I'm always wearing my mask now. I didn’t believe it was real but people should protect themselves because COVID is not a joke,” she told People. “Little kids or adults can get sick. People need to wear masks and protect everyone and everything.”
