First South Carolina COVID-19 patient to use donated plasma says she owes her life to the treatment

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HERE’S OUR TAGGART HOUCK. >> I CALL IT MY PLAGUE THAT I HAD, BECAUSE I WAS SO SICK. >> The Reporter: THAT PLAGUE FOR LISA HARDEN WAS COVID-19. LISA WAS HOSPITALIZED BACK ON APRIL 10, A FEVER OF MORE THAN 103 DEGREES, SEPARATED FROM HER FAMILY WHEN SHE DEVELOPED BILATERAL VIRAL PNEUMONIA. >> IT HURT SO BAD, THAT TEARS WOULD DRIP FROM MY EYES EVERY BREATH. >> The Reporter: SHE HAVE WASN’T ELIGIBLE FOR TWO TRIAL DRUGS, SO HER DOCTOR RECOMMENDED A PLASMA TRANSFUSION. IT PUTS ANTIBODIES FROM PATIENTS WHO RECOVERED HAVE COVID-19 IN HER SYSTEM. >> AND I TOLD THEM, ABSOLUTELY, DON’T GO RIGHT AHEAD. >>> TWO DAYS LATER ON EASTER SUNDAY — >> BOY, I REALLY NEEDED TO HEAR THAT THEN BECAUSE THAT DAY, I FELT IN MY HEART THAT I WAS GIVING OUT, I REALLY DID, I THOUGHT I CAN’T KEEP FIGHTING. >> The Reporter: SHE RECEIVED PLASMA FROM A DONOR IN TENNESSEE. >> AND WHEN I GOT THEM, IT STARTED FIGHTING FOR ME AND IT DID IT VERY, VERY QUICKLY. >> THE VIRUS IS A SPRINTER, RUNS A 100-YARD DASH REALLY, REALLY FAST AND WHAT WE’RE ABLE TO DO WITH THE ANTIBODIES IS TAKE THEM INTO THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, IT OUTRUNS OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM, SO IT GIVES THAT PERSON A 50-YARD HEAD START. >>> THREE DAYS AFTER THAT, SHE WAS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL. WEDNESDAY, SHE TESTED NEGATIVE. NOW THANKING HER DONOR, HOPING OTHERS DO THE SAME TO HELP SAVE LIVES LIKE HERS. >> I GET TEARY EYED, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR SAVING MY LIFE, BECAUSE I KNOW HOW I FELT. I FELT MY LIFE WAS SLIPPING AWAY. >> The Reporter:

Lisa Hardin is grateful to have received plasma from someone who had already beaten COVID-19.

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