âFighting this debilitating illness is really only a small part of a much bigger struggle ⦠we have to plan for the worst now,â Renaud told CTVNews.ca in an interview. Her first symptoms struck in mid-April. They lingered, improved, and worsened in turn throughout the year as she tried to keep working until her body finally crashed. She never tested positive for COVID-19, but in retrospect, believed she caught it from her husband, David Lackey, who got infected prior to the spring lockdown. Specialists, chest X-rays, echocardiograms, ultrasounds, and visits to the emergency department failed to determine what was wrong even as doctors suspected it was likely related to the coronavirus, said Renaud, who last year also developed postural tachycardia syndrome, characterized by an abnormal increase in heart rate after sitting up or standing, and is on heart medication.