ST. LOUIS — You likely know her from the 27 years she anchored the evening news here at 5 On Your Side.
Karen Foss became a household name in St. Louis, sharing stories of the people and the community. Now, she’s sharing a story of her own, her terrifying experience with a breakthrough case of COVID.
It was Jan. 16, a relaxing Sunday for Foss, when suddenly she felt nauseated and was unable to walk.
"I was reading the paper, so I was still for a couple of hours. I started to get up and I couldn't hold my own weight. I was so weak in the knees," explained Foss. She told her husband something wasn’t right and he insisted they take a COVID test.
“We both took the test. Mine was positive, his was negative and I took it again the next day because I thought, 'You know I've been vaccinated, I've had the booster. How could this be happening?'” Foss said.
Foss journaled about her experience each day.
On day one she wrote: “This is my latest painting, and it may be a while, before I get back to work, COVID has leveled me. It came on suddenly and not as I’d read about. Here's how it started for me. After a busy productive few days suddenly on Sunday, I could barely stand up. I was weak and achy. My eyes were itchy, my nose was running. I was nauseated and I had a headache. My temperature topped 101 Sunday Night and my blood oxygen level was in the 80s.”
By day three, Foss says she felt horrible. A barking cough, chills, pressure in her chest and exhaustion. Still, she couldn’t sleep as she was dealing with insomnia. Following the advice of friends, she went to the ER and received a monoclonal antibody treatment. She wrote that 10 hours later, she was feeling much better. She was back at home and on supplemental oxygen.
“I was 24/7 for three days on the oxygen and then two more nights and that probably kept me out of the hospital,” she said.
Foss says she felt compelled to share her story because the journalist in her wanted people to know what she was going through.
“I believe, knowledge is power. I’ve always been that way. I believe in sharing information and letting people draw their own conclusions from it,” Foss explained.
On day seven, Foss wrote, “Friends I don't care what you've heard, you do not want to get COVID. If, for any reason, you are not yet vaccinated please I implore you don't procrastinate any longer.”
It has been three weeks since Foss first tested positive and she’s still fighting exhaustion and brain fog. She says she’s grateful she was vaccinated and boosted, sharing that is what likely allowed her to recover at home.
“I still have to go slowly, and it is frustrating, but I trust that will come to an end,” she said.