LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After 20 days in the hospital battling COVID-19, a 24-year-old Louisville woman is home happy and healthy. While she is doing better now, it was a long road to get to this point. Hannah Jones says it would not have been possible without a plasma donation and a lot of prayers.

It was late March when Jones first noticed she was not feeling well. She had some pain in her stomach, but doctors didn't know why. They thought it was just acid reflux until she decided to get looked at again on April 1 when her symptoms worsened. 

Jones said she had the chills, a fever and it felt like there were a bunch of bricks on top of her. On that visit, doctors determined she had acute pneumonia and likely COVID-19, although it would be a few days before the test would confirm that. That was the start of her 20-day hospital stay.

By April 3, her fever spiked and doctors called her parents saying they needed to put her on a ventilator. Jones said, by the fifth day on a ventilator, she had nearly given up hope.

"If at this point, this is where God is telling me this is the end, then let it be. That was very hard to think about it now, but then I was just tired of fighting," Jones said.

On April 8, Jones said nurses reminded her that her family and friends were praying for her recovery. On that day, she recalls shifting her entire outlook.

"I was like I'm going to push through and God had given me the strength to push through no matter what," Jones said.

Jones fought for her life while waiting for a plasma donation that matched her blood type to get to the hospital. Nurses hoped they would have it in time for her birthday, but when April 12 came, the plasma was still not there.

Her birthday also happened to fall on Easter this year. Jones said it was hard spend her 24th birthday alone in the hospital. She recalls her parents visiting, but not being able to come in to see her.

"They just wanted to see me through the glass. They couldn't come in. I had reached out my arm because I wanted them to hug me, but they couldn't be in there," Jones said.

On April 13 came the hope she was waiting for. She received the plasma donation, which started her road to recovery. By April 15, she was off the ventilator. 

"It has been a slow process on the breathing aspect, but I was like 'I'm not going to antoher facility,'" Jones said.

On April 20, nurses and doctors lined the halls to cheer for as she was finally able to head home after a miraculous recovery.

"Even though they were clapping for me, I was clapping for them because they were the ones who made sure that I made it," Jones said.

Speaking to Jones now, nearly a month later, she has a whole new lease on life. She realized she wants to dedicate her life to helping others. That's why she's going back to school to become a nurse, just like the ones who helped her see the light in her darkest hour.