San Antonio justice shares experience battling COVID-19

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – She’s been isolated in her bedroom for 30 days as she recovers from COVID-19. Monday, Justice Luz Elena Chapa of the Fourth Court of Appeals shared her story during a children’s town hall hosted by Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

Justice Chapa started developing symptoms in mid -March when she and her family returned from a ski trip in Utah.

“It was a Saturday evening when we landed in San Antonio, and very late that evening is when I started to see signs and symptoms of extreme pain throughout my body, and then later a high fever,” she said.

She was tested for the flu and strep throat. Both came back negative, so she was tested for COVID-19 and the results were positive.

Her voice isn’t back to normal, and a fever that comes and goes has kept her in isolation.

“It’s been like a very long time-out for me, but I didn’t do anything wrong,” she told the young audience.

Chapa got emotional when she talked about not being able to hug her children and her husband. They have two daughters, ages 12 and 15, and a five-year-old son.

“We’ve had some incredible evenings together. I luckily have a glass door in my bedroom, and my husband has been a superhero dad,” she said choking back tears.

She said they’ve shared family dinners separated by the glass door that leads to the patio. However, she got some good news on Easter weekend. A test she took last Friday came back negative. She’s waiting for the results of a second test which will determine whether she’ll be able to go beyond the confines of her bedroom and  hug her family.