HAZEL PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — Earlier this month, Hazel Park native Katheryn Aberlich made local and national headlines, although not by name, when she became the fifth person in Michigan the CDC tested for the coronavirus.
“We’ve been living overseas and I would hate to be the case zero in Michigan," Aberlich told 7 Action News Reporter Jenn Schanz.
Aberlich and her three children left Beijing due to the concern over the spreading virus. Her diplomat husband, who works for the State Department, followed in the coming weeks.
Soon after landing at the Detroit Metro Airport, Aberlich said she started to spike a fever and experience other symptoms. Knowing she had been in China within the past 14 days, Aberlich called for an EMS.
“I explained to them you know like, I’m having chest pain but I knew I had to also let them know that I was in China," she said. "And it was like as soon as I said that things just happened very quickly. And they showed up here in mask."
She spent several days in isolation at various hospitals in metro Detroit, waiting for answers and to be reunited with her husband, who was still back in China at the time.
“All I could think was oh my gosh, who have I been in contact with? How many people could I have potentially made sick? So it was a relief to know that I was sick but I wasn’t sick with that,” she said.
Aberlich later learned she had viral pneumonia, her test for the coronavirus came back negative from the CDC.
#ONLYON7: The fifth person to be tested for the #Coronavirus in Michigan (test was negative) is sharing her experience tonight. Kathryn Aberlich is a Hazel Park native @wxyzdetroit @CDCgov pic.twitter.com/O7RZzxnUBM
— Jenn Schanz (@JennSchanzWXYZ) February 20, 2020
“They do nasal swabs like you would get if they think you had the flu," she explained. "Everything was just sort of tied up waiting for this test and everyone was just holding their breath to see if number five was going to be positive or not."
Most recently, she received treatment for her pneumonia at McLaren Macomb Hospital.
Aberlich said the hardest part of being in isolation was being away from her kids. FaceTiming twice a day just wasn't the same, she said.
“There was a lot of tears," Aberlich said. "I wanted to see them, not just see them on the screen but be able to hug them and hold them.”
Being at the center of this international health crisis has changed the way she views the outbreak, she said, and part of why she wanted to share her story.
“It’s a weird sensation," Aberlich said. "Especially to be labeled as like the possible suspect number five in Michigan. It was just a strange, it was a strange feeling.”
As of Thursday afternoon, there are still no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Michigan.
Globally, there are more than 75,000 confirmed cases and more than 2,000 deaths due to the illness.
Aberlich and her family left most of their belongings in Beijing, including two cats, which are being looked after by a housekeeper. They're waiting to see if and when they can return to China before her husband's next assigned post.
