Kat Kohler sits on the twinkling blue set, reminiscing about her time growing up with the classic dreamland. "I was the kid who was Rudolph who never got to be a part of the reindeer games."
When asked what she would like audiences to take away from "Wrinkles," the show s assistant director Coleen Gundzik kept it simple, hoping for "a smile."
Then COVID-19 brought life to a halt.
The 49-year-old came home from work Nov. 16 not feeling well and went into Adventist Health Bakersfield on Nov. 19. On Christmas Day, she will have spent 36 days in the hospital, including five days on a ventilator.Â
Swidecki s 28-year-old daughter Miranda was hopeful her mother would be discharged to an inpatient rehabilitation hospital any day. But as of Thursday, Workers Compensation had yet to authorize the move, Miranda said. And she was told if her mom wasn t moved by Thursday it likely wouldn t happen before Christmas.
Amy, a mother of two children in their mid-20s and grandmother to Miranda s 9-year-old son, is lucky to be alive. But like many COVID-19 patients who suffered severe illness â long-haulers as they re called in the medical community â she has a long road to recovery ahead.Â