Farm406

Donna Cook lives and works on a farm outside of Big Sandy with her husband, children, grandchild, and in-laws. e family, ranging from a 2-month infant to 80-year-old father-in- law, contracted COVID-19 in October 2021 following a visit from Donna's brother, whose son brought a case of sniffles home from school. "You don't automatically think of COVID, especially in small-town Montana," she said. Donna's mother-in-law tested positive for COVID before a scheduled pacemaker operation. e other ten traveled together to the local clinic for testing, filling two rooms. "Every test was positive," Donna said. e family was not vaccinated. "I didn't trust the science," she asserted. "ey rolled [the shots] out way too fast. And my cardiologist advised me not to. We had a plethora of reasons." Rural Montanans are resourceful, however. Originally from Fort Benton, Donna had done significant research on the virus and recommended medical protocols. "I'm very fact-based… I immediately started everyone on the protocol—ivermectin, quercetin, nebulizers." e result? "A few of us suffered fevers, and everyone lost their sense of taste and smell, but me. I couldn't eat anything, and that plagued me for 2-3 weeks," she said. Donna also had headaches—unusual for her—but they weren't debilitating. "e next two days were prey rough. I stayed at the hospital every night for ten days. I watched his oxygen levels stabilize," she continued. "ey told him he'd never survive outside of a hospital, they recommended hospice, they tried to get him into long-term care. But by ursday, he kind of turned around." When bacterial pneumonia returned in October, the hospital put Tim on a "super-high dose of antibiotics," Tricia noted. "He was discharged within nine days." Convalescing at their Great Falls home, Tim said, "Right now, I feel way beer. e doctors told me to prepare for the worst. But I had the feeling that, as long as I was breathing, I was going to come out of this. It seems like things got beer aer the ivermectin." Tim hasn't worked since his hospital admission and is still on oxygen—using a nasal cannula, forced air, and rebreather mask—but his levels are stable. "I'm feeling beer every day, doing more and more. It was hard before to even make it up three steps," he said, "but I can do full flights of stairs now. And I want to get back to work." Tricia credits his progress to "ivermectin and me staying there through the night to make sure he had restful sleep. His sheer will helped as well. I told him, you can't leave me." Tim lost 40 pounds though he has gained back 20, and "his skin color is back to normal," Tricia said. However, she still harbors frustration over current medical protocols. "One of my coworkers died of COVID," Tricia related. "It breaks my heart that they won't accept this regimen when I know for a fact it works. ere are many people dying because of it." Early COVID Onset Donna Cook and Family: Tricia is hopeful that a new CT in late January will show continued progress for Tim's lungs. Donna Cook was ready when COVID struck 11 family members last fall. "Everyone is good now," she says. farm406 48

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