A 30-year-old teacher from Brooklyn whose coronavirus symptoms were dismissed as a panic attack died on April 27 due to COVID-19 and now her friends and family are mourning her loss.
Rana Zoe Mungin was a social studies teacher at Ascend Academy. She got infected in mid-March and because she had two preexisting conditions, asthma and hypertension, she was at increased risk of getting complications from the virus.
Her sister Mia, a registered nurse, tried to get the best medical care for her but two emergency rooms turned her away despite her having a fever and shortness of breath with one paramedic even saying she was just suffering a “panic attack,” Mia told PIX11.
“He insinuated she was having a panic attack. She kept saying ‘I can’t breathe,’ ” Mia said.
Finally, Rana Zoe got admitted to Brookdale Hospital on March 20, five days after she first attempted to have herself treated or tested for COVID-19. But by the time she was admitted, she was already struggling to breathe and she had to be intubated and put on a ventilator.
After initially being told that Rana Zoe could be a candidate for remdesivir, one of several drugs being tested as a treatment for COVID-19, Mia, and her family found out she wasn’t eligible. Mia fought to get Rana Zoe included in the trial in an effort that caught the attention of New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who then made an appeal to the Food and Drug Administration.
Although Rana Zoe wasn’t added to the trial, she was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan where she initially started to improve. Rana Zoe even woke up on April 18 and opened her eyes. Doctors even tried to help wean her off the ventilator.
Unfortunately, Rana Zoe died on April 27, after more than a month on a ventilator.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to inform you all that my sister Rana Zoe … has passed away today at 12:25 pm due to COVID-19 complication,” Mia posted on Twitter. “She fought a long fight but her body was too weak.”
Rana Zoe became one of 28 New York City teachers who have succumbed to the coronavirus since March, reported PIX11.
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